Luxury San Diego Team Ditches Compass for The Agency

A luxury team in the San Diego market is making the move from Compass to The Agency, citing marketing capabilities and access to an international network as reasons for the shift.

Craig Lotzof, founder of the nine-person team Craig Lotzof & Associates, said that Compass is a “technology platform that sells real estate,” whereas The Agency is a “marketing company that sells real estate” — and that the latter is a better fit with the emergence of international buyers looking to the San Diego area, he said. Compass did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.

Lotzof’s team focuses on high-dollar San Diego areas — primarily, La Jolla, Del Mar, Rancho Santa Fe and Coronado — which have median home sale prices of 2.4 million, $4.3 million, $3.7 million and $2.9 million, respectively, according to Redfin. Last year, the group did $118 million in sales volume which included everything from “condos to castles,” with an average transaction value of $2.5 million, Lotzof said.

While the pandemic caused some setbacks in the international buyer market, Lotzof pointed to a turnaround when the San Diego International Airport began, or in some cases resumed, offering direct international flights to and from cities such as Munich, Zurich and Amsterdam. He said the air links reinvigorated San Diego as a destination for vacation homes with the newfound access to more convenient travel.

One of the team’s notable deals includes the $19.3 million sale of 5220 Chelsea Street, a roughly 7,500-square-foot home in La Jolla. The seven-bedroom oceanfront home includes a pool and sauna, among other amenities. The team also represented the buyer for 9860 La Jolla Farms Road who paid $17.3 million for the roughly 11,500-square-foot home in the private community of La Jolla Farms.

That’s not the only recent Compass exit. In Los Angeles, Kris Zacuto, who had been at Compass since late 2020, moved to Christie’s International Real Estate Southern California last month as director of luxury estates. Zacuto closed more than $34 million in sales volume in the last year, according to Christie’s, and will work to expand the firm’s presence in the Silicon Beach and South Bay markets. Zacuto said he sees “significant long-term upside” at Christie’s.

Nick Cacarnakis, who spent the last 15 years at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties operating in the Beverly Hills market, also moved to Christie’s as executive senior sales manager.

As local brokerages continue to see a shuffling of talent, Rodeo Realty is in growth mode. In late May, the firm brought on nearly three-dozen new agents to its SoCal luxury brokerage. The Syd Leibovitch-founded firm similarly cited marketing as a driver for agent moves, noting the need to embrace social media, video content and local brand authority.