Newport Beach, CA – In a move that unites California’s two leading industries – technology and real estate – a group of Orange County’s most successful residential real estate agents have joined forces with a leading telecommunications entrepreneur, today announcing the launch of their new firm: Villa Real Estate. OC super agents Kim Bibb, Tim Carr, Evan Corkett, Jon Flagg, and Steve High are co-founders and partners in the new brokerage, along with private equity investor Gary Jabara, founder and CEO of Mobilitie, the largest provider of wireless infrastructure in the U.S., based in Newport Beach.
“Villa Real Estate is a technology-based firm that sells real estate,” says Steve High, the firm’s president. “While there have been plenty of large-scale websites that have tried to sell real estate, none have been affiliated with the top agents in a region. At Villa Real Estate, we’ll go beyond simply harnessing the power of current technology to better serve our clients and agents. In contrast, we are developing proprietary new technologies that will revolutionize our industry and improve the home-buying and -selling experience for everyone.”
Villa Real Estate executives plan to deliver on this promise by unveiling a proprietary mobile app in May. According to the team, the app is designed to enable consumers to more quickly and easily access residential real estate data – and will leverage several of Jabara’s patented wireless technologies.
“More than 90 percent of consumers use the Internet as their primary tool when searching for a home or a real estate agent,” says Villa Real Estate co-founder, Kim Bibb. “Our firm will have the most pervasive and effective web presence – regionally, nationally, and globally – and our tech innovations will keep us many steps ahead of our competition. For years, residential real estate has struggled to keep up with advancing technologies – Villa Real Estate represents a paradigm shift.”
Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, Villa Real Estate launches with a staff of approximately 60, including a hand-selected group of coastal Orange County’s top luxury residential real estate professionals, a seasoned support team, and the local real estate industry’s brightest marketing and tech talents, led by Director of Marketing Derek May. The five co-founding agents – Bibb, Carr, Corkett, Flagg, and High, will manage the day-to-day operations of the firm, while investor Jabara will chair the firm’s Board and provide strategic counsel and technology innovation.
In addition to its headquarters at 660 Newport Center Drive, Villa Real Estate plans to open three satellite offices by year’s end, including locations in Corona del Mar, on Newport Beach’s Mariners Mile, and on the Balboa Peninsula. The brokerage also plans to expand its agent roster in the coming months.
“We are focused on intelligent, measured growth,” says co-founder Tim Carr. “Our goal is to field the strongest team of agents – not only top-producers, but also the most respected, ethical, professional, and client-centric real estate advisors in the industry. While technology will set us apart from - and ahead of - our competition, our people will truly be our ‘killer app.’”
Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, Villa Real Estate was founded in 2013 with the goal of delivering the world’s best representation to buyers and sellers of luxury real estate. Villa Real Estate does this by selecting the industry’s most seasoned and accomplished agents and providing them with next-generation technology, advanced digital strategies, and breakthrough marketing tactics to most effectively transact real estate to their clients’ greatest benefit. For more information, please visit www.villarealestate.com.