The Hollywood Reporter: Kofi is one of Hollywood’s top 30 real estate agents

By Peter Kiefer | Read the original Hollywood Reporter article here

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Ten years ago, Nartey asked his former college teammate, star NFL tight end Tony Gonzalez, to do him a solid. “He was one of the first people I reached out to, and he gave me a shot at selling his house in Manhattan Beach,” says Nartey, himself a ex-standout wide receiver at Cal who has emerged as the “go-to” broker for a growing pool of pro athletes seeking to buy or sell in L.A. Last year, the 3-year-old Compass poached Nartey from The Agency and tasked the Pepperdine MBA with launching a sports and entertainment division, which now has more than $100 million in active pocket listings. Having worked as an actor for nearly a decade after college (he’s appeared on True Blood and Modern Family), the father of two brings an understanding of both Hollywood and sports.

In August, he sold NBA player Nick Young’s six-bedroom Tarzana home for $3.2 million, and he’s in escrow on former Laker Derek Fisher’s Hidden Hills six-bedroom for $6.2 million. He also holds the listing for comedian Steve Oedekerk’s $10 million home in San Juan Capistrano. “The thing you want when dealing with a broker is inside information, and Kofi’s knowledge of pocket listings and off-the-market properties is second to none,” says Black-ish showrunner Kenya Barris, who hired Nartey to help him lease a home previously owned by Golden State Warriors star Andre Iguodala. “He’s also a cool-ass dude.”

With the arrival of two NFL franchises, a stadium rising in Inglewood and the recent deal for L.A. to host the 2028 Summer Olympics, more sports figures are looking to buy here. But in addition to “baller pads,” athletes need proximity to training facilities, which has Nartey and his team studying markets that range from Calabasas to the South Bay. “We now have a collective of 40-plus agents who are sharing ideas and best practices on how we can service clients and work better with business managers,” says Nartey. “We just get it better than everyone else because we’ve built a specialization around it.”