A fast-thinking problem-solver and a versatile, loyal advocate for her clients, Nikki Joel has more than a decade of Los Angeles real estate experience. A member of The Agency Sherman Oaks team, Nikki has a broad-reaching knowledge of the region's various neighborhoods, from the Valley to the Eastside to the ocean. An L.A. native, Nikki's real estate career began as a personal hobby. While working as a talent agent at ICM, she attended open houses in her free time to relax. "On Sundays, after reading scripts for clients, I would decompress by going to look at open houses. Invariably, I'd see houses I knew would be perfect for actor clients or colleagues and, for fun, I would drag them to look." Eventually, Nikki's real estate matchmaking gained traction-her talent clients were buying the homes she located for them. So, she launched her second act, with her real estate career at center stage. "I decided to transition from finding them movie roles to finding them homes," Nikki says. "The thing I loved most about being a talent agent was introducing my clients to filmmakers and projects, which is not dissimilar to introducing buyers to homes-both require identifying something that they will connect with and respond to emotionally." "Just as with being a talent agent, success in real estate requires commitment, taste, an outstanding reputation, trustworthiness, follow-through, passion and great relationships and, most of all an unwavering commitment to the client and an understanding of their needs and desires," she says. "Among the many things that drew me to The Agency is the fact that all of its agents and support personnel are very much on the same team, collaborating together to ensure that our clients realize their dream of home-ownership." A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, in her spare time, Nikki enjoys practicing yoga, skiing, traveling and spending time with her teenage boys, friends, and family.