Annie Clougherty: The First SERHANT Agent in California, and What's Really Happening in OC Real Estate

Annie Clougherty was the very first guest I ever had on a podcast. She's one of my closest friends, one of my most trusted referral partners for almost a decade, and she just did something that surprised the entire Orange County real estate world. She left Compass to become the first founding agent in California for SERHANT.So of course I had to bring her back.We sat down and got into all of it. How she got Ryan Serhant's attention with a cold email. Why she made the move when her business was already great. What she's actually seeing in the OC market right now, by price point. And the advice she's giving every buyer and every seller this year.A few things you'll walk away with:The exact subject line Annie used to get Ryan Serhant to reply, and what happened next.A real, by-price-point read on the 2026 Orange County market (and why the rules are different at $1M, $3M, and $5M+).Why a hoarder house in Costa Mesa listed at $995K closed at over a million.Annie's three words for sellers in this market: clean, paint, price.The line that stopped me in my tracks: "Information is power. I talk more clients out of deals than into them."Find Annie Clougherty:SERHANT California, Founding Agent, based in Orange County. She's on Instagram, Facebook, and her website. Search "Annie Clougherty" and you'll find her in all the places.And if you need a mortgage advisor who actually picks up the phone, that's me. Reach out at truepointlending.com.Thanks for listening. If you got something out of this one, share it with a friend who's thinking about buying or selling.