Executive Team

First Team Real Estate, headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, is the # 1 independent real estate company in southern California and has sold more homes in Orange County than any other brokerage in the last 10 years. Founded by President and CEO Cameron Merage with five agents in one office in 1976, today, First Team boasts a staff of over 2,000 real estate agents and employees operating in 65 offices across the southern California region.

First Team wins market share in any economic climate through innovation and proprietary marketing tools such as Market Trends^SM and HOT BUYS® and targets the luxury market with First Team Estates' "Live Beautifully" concept. First Team Estates is headquartered in Newport Beach, California and represents buyers and sellers in the $2 million and up property value range servicing ultra-exclusive areas such as Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Emerald Bay, Yorba Linda, Coto de Caza and specific surrounding areas.

At First Team, we understand that the business of real estate is cyclical.
Where others might see this as a negative, we actually see it as a positive. A cyclical market creates new problems, and as a result, new opportunities that come from solving these challenges. Our company was founded on the premise of innovation and creative problem solving. We are motivated by the opportunity to solve real estate problems, and create solutions that others cannot. Our company continually strives to meet customer’s needs by developing unique products and services to handle the challenges of any given market. These products and services are specially designed to empower our clients and help them make informed decisions, thereby leveraging the current market to their maximum advantage.

Many sellers and buyers think that all agents are the same, with the same information.
Nothing could be further from the truth. At First Team, we have more local knowledge, statistics and data than anyone else. Above all else, it is crucial to understand that real estate is a very local business. Cyclical changes do not occur equally across Southern California. Markets vary from region-to-region and from neighborhood-to-neighborhood. You have to know where your particular market is heading at any given time. At First Team, we continually monitor the size of market inventory, whether it is growing or shrinking, how long properties are staying on the market, whether that duration is increasing or decreasing, the gap between asking versus selling prices, in addition to other important factors. We can’t control the market, but we can control the depth and timeliness of knowledge we provide to our clients, giving them a tremendous advantage in a constantly shifting market.

In addition to our culture of innovation and creative problem solving, First Team offers other important advantages to the consumer.
Real estate is a highly competitive and fragmented industry. Not only do many companies not share knowledge or information, there are actually adversarial relationships within those companies, with many agents simply looking out for their own best interest.

At First Team, our culture is one of information sharing.
Our agents share within each office, and our offices share with each other, and can provide solutions on a collaborative basis. Our company is aligned at many levels, with agents and managers consistent in cooperation and mutual support. The end result is the sheer power of teamwork, which we leverage for powerful and positive results.

First Team’s independent status ensures that we’ll never have to answer to the corporate hierarchy of an impersonal national conglomerate.
As a result, our clients always receive extremely personal attention and responsive service from creative, local decision makers. We believe that successful real estate transactions begin with strong personal relationships with our clients. We know that every real estate situation is unique, and that there are no cookie-cutter solutions. The best way for us to provide peerless performance for you is to fully understand and react to your unique real estate needs. To find out what First Team can do for you, call a First Team agent today.