Jason Oppenheim knows real estate — it’s in his blood as a fifth-generation realtor in Los Angeles.
The president and founder of The Oppenheim Group brokerage has been recognized as one of the top agents in the country with more than $1 billion in closed sales, has active listings totaling more than $300 million, and cultivated a celebrity rolodex of clients and friends to rival any Hollywood black book.
His status as one of the go-to guys in the industry was only further cemented in stone following the success of "Selling Sunset," a reality series based on the company he built with his twin brother, Brett.
But Jason, who prides himself on being very selective and protective, was hesitant to dip his toes into television.
"I didn't want to do ‘Selling Sunset.’I was very against doing a show for a long time," he said. "I said no to many producers and agents for over a year."
The high-end, luxury brokerage initially had an office on prime West Hollywood real estate in the middle of West Hollywood. The booming Los Angeles market and celebrity clientele were just two of the many reasons TV opportunities kept crawling back to his desk.
"We got talked into doing a sizzle reel," he admitted, saying that many of the agents in the office were excited about the opportunity to not only showcase the brokerage, but also possibly generate new business leads.
"My brother and I largely thought there were more risks than rewards," Jason said. "At the time, we didn't know it would be good. We didn't know how the business would be shown. We knew that we had a great reputation. We knew we were growing every year. But I'm pretty controlling."
"So the idea of abdicating my reputation and my business for producers and a show for an unknown network was pretty nerve wracking, to say the least."
The program first premiered on Netflix in March 2019 with eight episodes featuring Mary Fitzgerald, Maya Vander, Davina Potratz, Christine Quinn, Chrishell Stause and Heather Rae Young. Amanza Smith became a fulltime cast member, with Emma Hernan and Chelsea Lazkani following soon after.
"I overthought a lot during season one. I was very anxious. Everything I thought was a big deal, every word I said, it was a big deal," Jason said. He’s not so anxious now. "I trust in the process."
Fans caught on to the hype of in-office drama mixed with incredible, insider views of some of the most prestigious properties in L.A., and seasons two and three were released back-to-back in the summer of 2020.
By season four in 2021, "Selling Sunset" was a certifiable hit with virtually every cast member a breakout star in their own right.
"In retrospect, I'm extremely happy that I did the show," Jason said. "It’s a lightning strike to have that success."
Not only did "Sunset" find a spin-off across the country in Tampa, Florida, the brother’s Newport Beach brokerage also landed its own show, "Selling the OC."
He admitted he had "high hopes" for the Orange County series, and is happy to see the new agents "follow in the footsteps of ‘Selling Sunset.’"
"I'm definitely not letting the drama bother me," Jason said. "I don't get as worked up and as stressed out as I used to, and somehow I'm managing it quite well. I luckily also don't have a role that requires me to get into a lot of drama. So I'm selfishly well positioned."
Some big O.C. drama he's been able to watch from the sidelines includes the revelation that one of his agents, Kayla Cardona, tried to kiss another agent, Tyler Stanaland off-camera. Stanaland was married to actress Brittany Snow at the time, and the former couple announced their separation weeks after the series aired.
While viewers are pining to see what's to come with "Selling Sunset" now that Christine Quinn is officially out of the picture and two new agents are in for season six — Nicole Young (who's been with the brokerage for a decade) and Bre Tiesi joined the cast this summer — Jason is shocked there are still fractures from within.
"When she left, I thought that the office would carry on with more cohesion. But there have been as many dramatic issues this season, if not more than any other season, so on," he said. "And I guess that's probably good for show purposes, but in terms of stress levels? Not much has changed. There's still a lot of … I don't know what it is, but still tons of things going on this season."
Oppenheim formed a bond with Quinn years ago while house hunting in the hills with a client. He stopped by a stunning property above the Sunset Strip in the Hollywood Hills, which is where he met Quinn's ex and also Heather Rae Young, who was representing former basketball player Kris Humphries at the time. Humphries got outbid on the property which was then sold to Harry Styles.
Fast-forward a few years, and Harry's house is back on the market for $8 million, and listed through one of Oppenheim's newer agents, Emma Hernon.
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Finding the perfect place for clients (Orlando Bloom, Meryl Streep, Ellen DeGeneres and Dakota Johnson, to name a few) is made easier now that Oppenheim can use the 1060 app, a program where agents can upload authentic videos for potential buyers. It's loosely coined the "TikTok for Homes."
"You can kind of get a better idea of the place. You can see the natural light, you can see the scale, the floor plan," he said. "To me, it's a little bit more approachable."
Instead of seeing professionally shot images which could skew perspectives, an agent can easily add real-time videos to any listing with one touch. "It's a ten times better experience 60 seconds at a time."
He added, "It makes common sense from a technical perspective. I think the natural progression of promoting real estate can't always be with photos. I mean, that can't be the future of marketing properties is still photography, right? If you're not aligning yourself with the next phase of marketing, then you're not doing your clients a service."
The ever-business-focused mogul said it's pretty rare for him to invest in companies with as many pitches that come across his desk, and sees 1060 as a "win-win-win" all-around.
"I get hundreds of things presented to me … Ideas, investment opportunities and 95% of them don't make sense for one reason or another," he said. "If it's something where I'm like, ‘I would use this. I would invest in this company,’ then it's a go. That's been pretty rare for me."
As for what his A-list clientele looks for in a property? Oppenheim says Hollywood's elite have "pretty similar requests as everyone else.
"They may be a little bit more interested in privacy or, you know, paparazzi access, but overall, looking for the same type of things that anyone else is looking for. It's still for them a home just like it is for you or anyone else."
