Longtime Malibu resident and Realtor Andy Stern has taken on the role of branch manager at Coldwell Banker’s Malibu West Office, taking over for former manager Jay Rubenstein.
“I’m thrilled to be the branch manager here and work with my good friends and help manage this office,” Stern told The Malibu Times in a phone interview on Monday, about two weeks after starting the job at the office on Heathercliff Road in Point Dume. “There are fabulous people here; I love the sales associates here, I love the management at Coldwell Banker and I’m just proud to be part of this organization and managing this office.”
Stern, a former Mayor of Malibu and a 2009 Malibu Times Dolphin Award winner, takes over for former manager Jay Rubenstein, who left Coldwell Banker at the end of 2015 to launch Compass — a New York-based luxury real estate firm — in Malibu.
Coldwell Banker, which, according to its website, runs 727 affiliated offices, has seen great success in Malibu over the past two decades. Its Malibu West location has been consistently named a Premier Office since 1997.
When asked what challenges he anticipates facing in the coming year, Stern said he was confident 2016 would be another profitable year for the agents in Western Malibu.
“I can’t predict any challenges coming up. I just think we look forward to increased sales at our office and in the company,” Stern said. This comes on the heels of both personal and office-wide success. “I did great last year — top three percent Coldwell Banker in the world.”
In 2014, under the direction of Rubenstein, the Malibu West office raked in the highest average sale price in the United States, according to information provided by Compass, with an average sell price of $4,549,000.
As for the success of Coldwell Banker, Stern chalks it up to the hard work and dedication of the staff.
“It’s the sales associates themselves. They are the hardest working, most creative, dynamic people I’ve ever worked with, and it’s true. That’s why I came here,” Stern, who joined the company eight years ago, said. “Both offices, the Colony office and West office, are fabulous people, second to none in terms of integrity, ethics, hard work and doing their best for their office.”
But aside from hard working agents and fiscal success, what’s the best thing about working in the Malibu West office? According to Stern, the answer seems to mirror the age-old real estate mantra: location, location, location. In a word: Malibu.
“I came to this town in 1991 and didn’t know anyone, and what I love about this town is it’s really a small town. You run into your friends at the market and at the restaurants. It’s a real small town feeling, and I’m delighted to live here and work here,” Stern said.
Rubenstein launches Compass office
Rubenstein announced in December he would be leaving Coldwell Banker to help launch a Malibu office for up-and-coming real estate firm Compass, which was founded in New York in 2013.
“I’ve been in this business for 37 years, and I have never seen a company take off in this market the way Compass has. Their winning combination of agent support, groundbreaking technology and culture-first attitude is attracting some major talent, and will continue to grow because their platform is simply unmatched,” Rubenstein said in a statement released by Compass.
Rubenstein had managed the Malibu West office of Coldwell Banker since 1994. His role at Compass will be to launch and manage their new Malibu office, which opens just four weeks after Compass launched its first California office in Beverly Hills.
“We are thrilled to welcome Jay to Compass. His excellent reputation and business track record make him the perfect choice to lead our Malibu office and further expand our West Coast footprint,” Robert Reffkin, Compass CEO and founder, said in a statement.
“I’m excited to work with [Regional Vice President] Stan [Richman], [Regional Director of Risk Management and Education] Kathy [Mehringer] and Robert [Reffkin] to build the premier real estate services company on the West Coast,” Rubenstein said in the statement.