The Malibu Realty Company, long a fixture of the Malibu real estate scene, is closing its doors at the end of this week. All of its agents, about 30 in number, have been told they should seek em-ployment elsewhere.
At a hastily called, tearful meeting on Aug. 9, the agents were told the agency and its real estate, which has been up for sale since its founder, Charles Willson, died a short time ago, had found a buyer and a deal was signed. The names of the new buyer or buyers were not disclosed, as part of a confidentiality agreement.
The sale of the company includes the smallish 1,500 square foot real estate office at the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Cross Creek Road, which is being shut down for repairs at the end of this week. The building will be closed for termiting and renovation, and it is anticipated it will remain closed for approximately three months, reopening sometime in November.
In addition to the sale of the company and its name, there is also the real estate, which includes the Cross Creek Road building, another small building at Point Dume located at Pacific Coast Highway and Heathercliff Road, which sits on a commercially zoned half acre or so, and a lease on an office in Topanga Canyon. It is rumored the buyer has a lease option on both the Point Dume property and the Topanga lease.
Many of the Malibu Realty agents, like Elsie Muslin, Tom Bates, Bill Mason and Libby Sparks, are longtime Malibu Realty agents, having worked with Charles Willson for years, and are community activists. Although all knew the agency and real estate were up for sale, the sudden speed of the transaction and the short time they were given to leave left some of them, who asked not to be quoted, quite upset and hurt after long years of service to the company.
The Malibu real estate community, which is relatively small, is alive with rumors about who the purchasers might be, whether it is a large company from the outside entering what they perceive as a lucrative high-end market, or perhaps some local heavy-hitting agents who had decided to strike out on their own.
The last few years has seen a large amount of consolidation in the Southern California real estate industry and there is a constant stream of rumors about new agencies opening, although very few have actually taken the step.
In a letter to the board of directors of the Malibu Association of Realtors (which is running in its entirety in our Letters to the Editor section), the board president, Beverly Taki, said, “Today is a sad day in the history of Malibu real estate. Our colleagues who have been reliable agents for Malibu Realty have been instructed to remove their belongings and to associate with another brokerage by next Friday, August 17. This is a shock for our fellow members and we need to offer our condolences and encouragement as they determine the next phase in their real estate career.”