Cindy Ambuehl Joins Christie’s International Real Estate (Exclusive)
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There’s another big move afoot in Los Angeles’ elite luxury real estate world: Top-selling Compass agent Cindy Ambuehl is going to join AKG | Christie’s International Real Estate.
She’ll be the executive director of luxury estates of the Brentwood office of AKG, which was formed last year when Aaron Kirman of Aaron Kirman Group himself left Compass to start the new brokerage.
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Ambuehl’s high-profile sales have included selling David E. Kelley and Michelle Pfeiffer’s Pacific Palisades property for $25 million in 2021, repping Kevin Nealon in the purchase of a $4.35 million house in the Palisades, and representing the seller of a Frank Gehry-designed house in Santa Monica, which sold to producer Jason Blum in 2021.
“I’m extremely excited about the role and about being part of building something I truly believe in. It’s all just the right movement in the right direction. I’ll still be doing all the sales that we’ve been doing and plan on doubling and tripling our numbers and doing it with a really fabulous collaboration,” says Ambuehl, who specializes in L.A.’s wealthy West Side, from Brentwood to Santa Monica and Pacific Palisades.
Ambuehl — a former actress who’s appeared on JAG, Seinfeld, Wings and The Bold and the Beautiful — became a real estate agent 16 years ago. In that time, she’s racked up more than $2 billion in career sales and last year sold more than $250 million in residential real estate sales.
“We love Cindy. We’re super excited,” AKG founder and CEO Aaron Kirman tells The Hollywood Reporter. “We’re very strategic about our approach and growth, and we definitely wanted to open a Brentwood office. West of the 405 is so important for our marketplace, and when we studied the top agents who have dominance on the West Side, there was literally one person that we wanted, and that was Cindy.”
Kirman adds that he’s proud to open “our third office in seven months,” with Brentwood following on the heels of locations in Beverly Hills and Encino (led by Andrew Spitz and Fran Chavez). AKG’s Brentwood office will be located in The Lawn building at 11911 San Vicente Boulevard at the intersection of Montana Avenue.
Both Ambuehl and Kirman admit that the business conditions in L.A.’s luxury real estate world have been challenging in the last year, due to high interest rates and the effects of the ULA Measure (the so-called Mansion Tax that puts a steep transfer tax on residential transactions of more than $5 million in order to fund affordable housing). “But we’re getting it done. We’re definitely doing our numbers,” says Ambuehl. “All of my listings — all except I think two — are in escrow, and we have eight that we’ll be launching in the next four weeks. That’s a lot of activity. Everyone wants to live by the beach.”
Among her listings is 1508 Old Oak in Brentwood’s Sullivan Canyon, a four-bedroom ranch house that’s on the market for $14.95 million. “It’s really beautiful. It has a tennis court and a wellness center with an ice bath and infra-red saunas,” says Ambuehl. The property includes two horse stalls, in keeping with the character of the area. “There are people on horses going up and down the streets in Sullivan Canyon,” she adds.
Ambuehl, who was named one of THR’s annual top real estate agents in Hollywood, says that she’s most excited about joining AKG because of the shared values. “That’s something that’s really important. We’re trying to get back to the grassroots of agenting where agents collaborate, and they talk, and they join forces,” says Ambuehl, who describes her agenting approach as “boots on the ground.”
“That’s how I’ve always run my office,” she continues. “I’m always in front of my clients. It’s my job to be on the phone with them from morning until night. It’s my job to be there at the showings, as opposed to be somebody in the background and sending someone to do it. I just love that personal touch,” continues Ambuehl. Her charitable endeavors include supporting GiveBack Homes, which builds housing for families around the world. “They are a remarkable organization,” says Ambuehl. “We recently built a home for a single mom with four kids who lost their father to cancer.”
Thad Wong, co-CEO of Christie’s International Real Estate, adds “It’s exciting to see the impact that Aaron Kirman and AKG have made on L.A. in just a few short months since joining forces with Christie’s International Real Estate. Agents like Cindy Ambuehl demand the best platform to run their business and serve their clients at the highest level, and that’s exactly what we offer in partnership with leading brokers like AKG.”
Kirman also teases that more agents will join AKG in the coming months. “We have a roster of people coming,” he says. “I can’t say names yet.”
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