Million Dollar Listing star Fredrik Eklund moves to Los Angeles, here's why
When it comes to the luxury real-estate business, Fredrik Eklund has a reputation for being a 'shark'. The 44-year-old real estate mogul has a reputation of being the 'top dog' of New York City, which is a well-deserved accolade considering he has closed deals worth a whopping $15 billion during his career! Despite having a thriving career in New York City's luxury real-estate market, Fredrik made the bold decision of moving his base from the big apple to sunny Los Angeles.
The upcoming season 13 of 'Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles' will feature Fredrik as the full-time cast member of the series. From being a top dog in NYC to find himself as the underdog in LA, Fredrik's career took a 180 turn. So, why did the 'Million Dollar Listing New York' star move to Los Angeles? If you're wondering the same, then we got you covered.
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Why did Fredrik Eklund move to LA?
It is to be noted that Fredrik's move to LA didn't come out of blue. The successful realtor first landed in LA in 2019, when his firm Eklund-Gomes Group decided to expand their operations in the West Coast. Fredrik and his husband Derek Kaplan landed in California to oversee the expansion. Back then Fredrik was shuttling between the coasts by splitting his time between New York and LA, while his family stay put in LA.
But when the pandemic took over the world in early 2020, Fredrik was stuck in LA. Despite being in LA, he was still trying his best to close deals and handle the operations in New York. It goes without saying that it wasn't an easy job for Fredrik to manage operations in New York while sitting in California. In an interview with The New York Post, he shared, "Being very determined — and a bit of a control freak, as I am with my business — it was very hard to get that phone call from my assistant… where he said ‘All the airports are closing. The city kind of shut down where I just couldn’t travel. It was very frustrating." "In L.A., I’m an underdog, and I really had a little bit of a hard time to adjust,” .In New York, I’m the top dog. In L.A., I’m definitely not. And I have to prove myself here and ruffle a lot of feathers here locally," he added.
It looks like it didn't take too long for Fredrik to find his footing in LA. In an Instagram post, he expressed all the pros and cons of living in LA, while still expressing his undying love and loyalty towards the Big Apple. He wrote, "Every day someone asks me if moving to LA from NY was the right choice so here it goes.... First off, we love California. I can go on about the sun, hiking, the twins in the pool, the parks, the food, the beaches, the sunsets, my convertible sex-on-wheels car, the 0 humidity bla bla ... Yes, it’s true what they say about Cali and it’s lifestyle!" "I do miss my friends in New York. Of course there’s that special drum and energy in NY and deep down I’ll always be a New Yorker. Who says you can’t love New York and live in LA? But let me be honest, one thing I don’t miss is the winter in NY. I already hated it in Sweden growing up.," he shared.
He also touched upon how the move affected him professionally. "Professionally, the move to LA was a little more difficult at the start. I felt like a salty Swedish fish out of water. Naturally I had a lot to learn and a lot of people to meet. I realize now just how much I used to identify myself with being the top dog in NYC and having to start over more or less in LA. I ruffled some feathers as you’ll see on MDLLA this season but I’ve also made a lot of friends and feel just at home in LA as I do in New York professionally today. The best of course is to be active on both coasts as the buyer-pool is increasingly the same anyway and the sellers want exposure everywhere."
So it looks like Fredrik's move to LA might be for the long haul. We can't wait to see how NYC's top dog manages to navigate the tricky luxury real-estate scene in LA.
'Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles' Season 13 is all set to premiere with a supersized 90-minute special episode on Thursday, September 2, at 8/7c on Bravo.