Tami Pardee on scaling her agency with a Hollywood playbook

This unique approach has fueled her company’s success and made Pardee Properties one of the most respected brokerages in Southern California.

This conversation excerpt has been edited for length and clarity.

Velt: Are you seeing a lot of movement in the Palisades market in terms of people clearing out or rebuilding?

Pardee: It’s mixed. You know, at first, it was like everybody was going to stay and rebuild. And now there’s a lot more lots on the market. I think there’s about 200 lots currently on the market.

She explained that some homeowners are choosing to move permanently into their second homes, accelerating life plans that once felt distant.

Pardee: People that were saying like, ‘I want to retire, I want to move here in 10 years,’ are doing it sooner or they’re moving to a different place sooner, especially because people can work in other areas now.

Velt: That makes a lot of sense. You’ve built one of the largest female-owned businesses in Los Angeles, and you’ve been a fixture in the RealTrends Verified rankings for years now. As you’ve grown, how have you managed to scale company culture?

Pardee: Yes, thank you. So here’s where I’m different from the larger brokerages — I’m a boutique brokerage, but we do a lot of business. as you know. We’re on track to do about $600 million to $700 million this year.

She emphasized that instead of growing headcount, her focus is on developing a small, high-producing team that she can support deeply.

Pardee: I don’t want to have 500 agents. I want to have 30 agents that are high-producing agents where my quality control can be incredible.