'Selling Sunset' fans want to know: Are the stars actual real estate agents, and who sells the most?

By Claudine Zap

If you find it hard to believe that real estate agents wear haute couture and sky-high stilettos, you haven't been to Los Angeles

They're back! The glamorous, viperous, over-the-top cast of "Selling Sunset" has returned for Season 8. And there's plenty of drama and scandal to go around.

The popular Netflix (NFLX) series follows the L.A.-area agents of the real-life real estate agency, The Oppenheim Group, owned by twin brothers Brett and Jason Oppenheim.

But what about actually buying and selling real estate? Do the show's beautiful agents really risk getting ink on their designer duds?

Are they actually real estate agents?

When the show initially premiered, some fans of the reality TV series found it hard to believe the women were legitimate real estate agents. Back in 2020, model Chrissy Teigen posted on X and threw a little shade their way: "I will say, I look at L.A. real estate a lot and have never seen any of these people lol. either have our agents, who I have obsessively asked."

Jason Oppenheim defended the cast members in a 2020 statement to People magazine, saying: "Any insinuation that the agents on our show are not experienced, successful, or licensed, evidences a complete disregard for the facts," he said.

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"Even a superficial investigation would identify previous team photos, hundreds of millions in transacted sales, and more than 50 years of combined licensed real estate experience from these agents."

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Who rings that bell?

Although the cast's all-female sales crew swans about in sky-high stilettos and haute couture as they meet up for drinks to dive into problems both professional and personal, they also occasionally seem to throw an open house and have a showing or two for the multimillion-dollar listings they take on.

So, who does it best? Realtor.com took a look at the Oppenheim Group's sales to see who wins in terms of most properties sold and highest value properties sold this year.

This list is culled from the Multiple Listing Service, where listing are shared by real estate agents. And here's something that might surprise you.

While there are plenty lavish megahomes featured on "Selling Sunset," those multimillion listings may be offered as an off-market listing, are no longer on the market, or simply haven't sold yet.

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There are plenty of sales being transacted; they're just not the extravagant, nine-digit-price-tag homes seen on the show.

Your favorite cast members are all back this season: Chrishell Stause, Mary Fitzgerald, Emma Hernan, Amanza Smith, Chelsea Lazkani, Bre Tiesi, and Nicole Young. And there's also a new face: agent Alanna Whittaker.

So, are these stars simply actors at this point, as some have suggested? Or do they actually close some deals?

While all the cast members are certainly entertaining, not all of them are actually selling this year, at least according to info from the MLS. Let's take a look at the top sellers who actually ring that bell.

Mary Bonnet

The vice president of the Oppenheim Group, the "Selling Sunset" star boasts "over 15 years of Real Estate Experience," her bio on the O Group website states.

She reps both buyers and sellers in the L.A. luxury market and has notched "over $105 million in sales."

This year, Bonnet shared a single listing with Jason that they sold at a price of about $1.9 million.

Nicole Young

The "Realtor associate" with the O Group joined the Season 6 "Selling Sunset" cast in 2022.

Since then, she's brought plenty of drama with her. She and Chrishell famously feuded over everything from outfits to expensive listings.

Nicole joined the O Group back in 2014 and represents a range of clientele, from "first time buyers and sellers to celebrities, executives, and other high profile individuals," according to her website bio. And she's no slouch when it comes to real estate.

She and Chrishell sold a Burbank property together, and Nicole has also sold several properties with Jason as the co-listing agent. Her total comes out to $6,168,500 in sales this year.

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Chrishell Stause

The former soap star, who has been with the show since the first season, has been through a lot.

She dealt with her public divorce to "This is Us" star Justin Hartley, sparred with show villain Christine Quinn, dated her boss Jason for a time, then flipped for musician G Flip-the two married last year.

Throughout her personal travails, she's also put in the work. She's co-listed a number of properties that have sold this year. She sold several with Jason and one with Nicole. And she did one deal solo, adding up to a grand total of over $10.4 million in sales.

Brett Oppenheim

Brett, twin of Jason, started his career as a lawyer and then started over with a career in real estate.

Although he and his brother started the Oppenheim Group, Brett has recently made a foray on his own, with a separate brokerage firm, Oppenheim Real Estate, where he is the president and broker.

He bills himself "one of the region's highest producing agents" and has represented "some of Los Angeles's most iconic properties and brokered multiple record-breaking sales throughout the city, as well as starring in "Selling Sunset."

Although he's less of a presence on the show, he certainly has made his mark with real estate. His sales total so far this year comes out to almost $10.6 million.

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Jason Oppenheim

The founder and president of the Oppenheim Group, Jason is at the helm of a firm that's brought in "more than $3.5 billion in total sales and $500 million in active listings," according to the firm's website.

Following a career in law, Jason left that field to join a five-generation tradition that began in 1889 when his great-great-grandfather started one of L.A.'s first real estate companies.

Although he has received accolades as a top real estate agent, he's now also known for his role on "Selling Sunset" as the boss of a contentious bunch of agents who bring him their listing challenges and knotty interpersonal issues to the office. Despite all of that, he's managed to rack up a number of sales, making him the No. 1 agent in the office, with a total of over $20 million in sales this year.

That number doesn't include the pending sale of Kanye West's Malibu beach house. Repped by Jason, the infamously stripped-down structure was last listed in April for $39 million. The deal hasn't yet closed, according to Realtor.com, and the final price is not yet known.

This story originally ran on Realtor.com.

-Claudine Zap

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09-23-24 0501ET

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