Myra Nourmand
Myra Nourmand is a principal and agent at Nourmand & Associates, a family-run real estate brokerage founded by her husband, Saeed Nourmand, in 1976. It is now led by their son, Michael Nourmand. The couple has two other children, Howard and Nicole, who “feed the business” through their respective industries, she said. Nourmand joined the Beverly Hills-based business in 1981 after stints in sales in New York, including as a telemarketer selling fire alarms. Nourmand says she has closed over $1 billion in deals, including the iconic $12.2 million Charlton Heston estate on Coldwater Canyon Drive in Beverly Hills. Other notable deals include having sold Agnes Moorehead’s former home for $16 million and having represented singer Sheryl Crow when she sold her home.
Nourmand was born in Germany. Her parents were Holocaust survivors. After making the initial migration to New Jersey, her family ultimately settled in Buffalo, New York, where she spent her high school years and later college years at the University at Buffalo. Her father was “the ultimate salesman,” she said, selling sewing machines and bringing her along for the job whenever he could. She was hooked, but it wasn’t until she and her husband moved to California that she got into the business of selling real estate. Nourmand says she appreciates the title, “First Lady of Beverly Hills,” though she admits to liking it a little more before the current First Lady took up residence in the White House.
6:30 a.m.: I’m an early riser. I love my mornings. I make my coffee and I read the Los Angeles Times. I sometimes look at the New York Times, being a New Yorker. If the weather is permitting, I’ll sit outside in the garden in the home I’ve lived in since 1981. I have the most incredible fruit trees. In the spring, all are in blossom.
7:30 a.m.: I take my shower and get dressed. I go through my emails and I like to flag the ones that are time-sensitive. When 8 a.m. rolls around and it’s not too early, I start addressing my clients.
9:00 a.m.: I’m in the office by 9 a.m., returning phone calls and meeting with clients. Twice a week I like to give my clients an update of the activity they’ve had. I like to let them know what the comments are or the schedules of when people are going to be visiting their house. I recently had to tell a client she should lower the price of her home in Beverly Hills. So, per her request, I’m currently in the process of making a spreadsheet detailing all the houses that have sold in Beverly Hills since Jan. 1.
10:00 a.m.: I’m at showings. Sometimes I’m writing offers, other times I’m going on listing appointments. I go wherever the client is, whether it’s Malibu, Hollywood or Beverly Hills. I’m from New York so I’m used to getting in a car. In L.A., when it rains, people are frozen. My kids will laugh when I tell them I used to walk home from lunch in 5 feet of snow. Weather does not hamper me. I am making myself available with my clients if they allow it.
11:00 a.m.: My husband and I own a number of homes that we lease out and so some days I have to check on our houses. When a tenant moves out, I prepare it for the next tenant. I’ve been very fortunate that the tenants that I have become my friends. A man from England once rented one of my houses in Beverly Hills. I ended up selling him a $9 million house. My life is a revolving door.
1:00 p.m.: If I’m lucky I grab something quick to eat. I try to schedule a lunch with a client, fellow broker or one of my managers to go over what has transpired over the week. I love Italian — sometimes I’ll go to the Drago restaurant, which is in a close proximity to my office. My time is very tight and I want to pack in as much as I can in a day. All the maitre d’s know me so there’s never waiting in line.
3:00 p.m.: I come back to the office. I do some more showings. I’m currently working on a $22 million deal.
4:00 p.m.: I go on listing appointments 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sometimes as much as you plan, a client will call and cancel, so I have to cancel four showings and do collateral damage. This is not a business that’s written in stone.
7:00 p.m.: I like to be home by the evening. I love to cook.
9:00 p.m.: I’m on the phone at night after dinner, returning calls to people who have called me between 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. I just came back from a three-day seminar in Las Vegas where we brought our top brokers and I met some unbelievable speakers who had written books. I’m reading one of their books now — it’s called “Grit.”
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