Built Here.
Orange County, 2006.
Still Here.
20 years later.
Still local. Still independent. Still connected. Still Surterre.
20 years in real estate can be measured in transactions, market cycles, neighborhoods transformed, and homes bought and sold. But at Surterre Properties®, the story of the past two decades is ultimately about something more enduring: people.
Since 2006, Surterre has grown alongside Orange County while remaining rooted in the principles on which the company was founded: local expertise, collaboration, service, independence, and relationships that extend well beyond a single transaction. As Surterre Properties celebrates its 20th anniversary, we are recognizing the people, places, and relationships that helped build an Orange County real estate legacy.
2006: Where It Began
Surterre Properties was born in Orange County in 2006 from a vision to create a different kind of luxury real estate brokerage. Founder Gary Legrand set out to build a forward-thinking company designed around the needs of both clients and real estate professionals.
From the beginning, collaboration was central to that vision. Rather than operating as a collection of individual agents under one name, Surterre was designed to foster communication, shared knowledge, and meaningful connections across the brokerage. That team-centric philosophy continues to shape the company today.
Over the next two decades, Surterre expanded its reach while maintaining its boutique identity. Today, the company serves clients throughout Orange County, Los Angeles, and the Coachella Valley, with offices in Dana Point, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, and Palm Desert.
More than $31.5 billion in sales later, the founding idea remains recognizable: exceptional real estate begins with exceptional people working together.
20 Years of Orange County Real Estate
Orange County real estate in 2026 looks very different from the market Surterre entered in 2006.
Technology has transformed how buyers discover homes, how sellers market them, and how agents communicate with clients. Smartphones, social media, high-definition property video, drone photography, virtual tours, digital signatures, artificial intelligence, and real-time market data have become part of a real estate experience that was far less digital two decades ago.
The communities themselves have evolved, too. From Newport Coast and Newport Beach to Laguna Beach, Irvine, Dana Point, and communities throughout the county, new development, architecture, amenities, and changing lifestyles have continually reshaped what buyers seek in a home.
Client expectations have changed with them. Luxury real estate today demands immediate information, sophisticated marketing, deep market intelligence, discretion, and an increasingly personalized level of service.
Yet technology has not made relationships less important. In many ways, it has made trusted local knowledge even more valuable. Data can show what sold. Technology can help identify opportunities. But understanding why one street, view, lot, floor plan, or neighborhood commands a premium still comes from experience.
That kind of perspective is built over time.
The People Who Have Been Here From the Beginning
A 20th anniversary is a milestone for a company. It is something else entirely when so many of the people who helped shape that company are still part of it two decades later.
These Surterre agents have been with the brokerage since its inception in 2006:
And there is another person whose Surterre story also reaches all the way back to the beginning. Current Vice President of Operations Elizabeth Pahlavan was part of Surterre in 2006 as a staff member, making her an important part of the company’s original team and its 20-year history.
Collectively, these individuals represent something that cannot be replicated simply by opening an office or adopting a brand. They carry decades of institutional knowledge, community relationships, client histories, and firsthand experience navigating Orange County real estate through changing markets.
They remember the company at its beginning because they were part of it.
Built here. Still here.
What Hasn’t Changed
Markets change. Technology changes. Marketing changes. What has endured at Surterre is the belief that real estate remains fundamentally personal.
Local expertise still matters. Orange County is not one market but a collection of highly distinct communities, neighborhoods, streets, and micro-markets. Understanding those differences requires more than access to listing data. It requires years spent living, working, negotiating, and building relationships within them.
Relationships still matter. Many Surterre clients return years later for another transaction. Others introduce their children, friends, colleagues, and business partners. Those relationships often span generations and become part of the fabric of the brokerage itself.
Collaboration still matters. Surterre’s team-centric model was established long before collaboration became a real estate buzzword. Today, the brokerage reports an approximately 30% in-house transaction rate, reflecting the value of agents sharing information, relationships, and opportunities within the company.
Independence still matters. Surterre remains a boutique, independent brokerage with its identity rooted in Southern California. That independence allows the company to remain focused on the communities and clients it knows best.
And service still matters. Whether representing a landmark coastal estate, a longtime family home, or a client’s next investment, the goal remains the same: combine expertise, discretion, market intelligence, and personal attention to deliver an exceptional experience.
20 Years of People, Places + Relationships
Surterre’s history is intertwined with the places it serves.
It is found in the coastal communities stretching from Newport Beach and Corona del Mar to Laguna Beach, Dana Point, and San Clemente. It is reflected in the neighborhoods of Irvine, Newport Coast, Costa Mesa, and throughout Orange County. And over time, that reach has expanded north toward Los Angeles and east into the desert communities of the Coachella Valley.
But a company’s legacy is not defined by geography alone.
It is built through thousands of conversations around kitchen tables. Through negotiations, keys handed over at closing, homes entrusted to the brokerage for sale, and clients who return years later for the next chapter.
It is built through agents sharing knowledge with one another. Through staff members supporting the work behind the scenes. Through longstanding relationships with clients, colleagues, and communities.
That is what 20 years of Surterre represents.
Looking Ahead
The next era of Orange County luxury real estate will undoubtedly bring more change.
Technology will continue to reshape how homes are discovered and marketed. Buyers will have access to more information. Sellers will expect increasingly sophisticated presentation and strategy. New generations will enter the market with different priorities around architecture, wellness, sustainability, technology, flexibility, and lifestyle.
But the qualities that distinguish exceptional real estate representation are unlikely to change nearly as quickly.
Experience will matter. Judgment will matter. Local knowledge will matter. Relationships will matter.
For Surterre Properties®, the future is not about leaving behind what was built in 2006. It is about carrying the strongest parts of that foundation forward.
