California’s Jessica Nieto and eXp Realty: Proudly Made for Each Other 

Editor’s note: In celebration of Gay Pride Month, we are featuring eXp agents who are allies and supporters of the LGBTQ community and promote their services, values, and commitments.

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As a California-based agent who is also licensed in Oregon and Washington, Jessica Nieto built her real estate business to be “borderless.” After 10 years, and over 3,000 homes sold for investment clients and residential buyers, Jessica used market disruptions caused by the pandemic to consider her next step.

What real estate broker could best support her personality and free-range ambition? 

“What is really important to me is amplifying the voice of others that aren’t strong enough or quite ready to speak up. The investment niche of real estate sales is cutthroat. I am a bulldozer with my nose to the grindstone when it comes to business, but what I didn’t know I needed was to be in a ‘room’ with more amazing minds and hearts so I could focus more on growing my leadership skills in order to serve better,’’ Jessica said. 

She knew right away eXp Realty was the perfect match. The virtual brokerage, and its “borderless” community of 85,000+ agents worldwide, was the seamless platform with the cutting-edge technology she needed. 

“That’s what I found at eXp. I was like a kid with the new backpack with all this new technology and all these smart people available to me. I tell people ‘don’t do this alone. Find your tribe,’ ’’ she said.

Nieto Found Her Perfect Home at eXp Realty and Its Welcoming Diversity

It’s not as if Nieto needed eXp Realty to be a major player for her investment buyers, iBuyers and individual buyers. She and her partners at Brooke Realty had generated up to $80 million in annual sales before joining. But eXp Realty was the home she didn’t know she really needed. 

In 2021, her second year with eXp, Jessica and her business partner, Brian Brooke, sold $142 million on 240 transactions. Even more important, Nieto became an active player in many eXp agent initiatives, including a leadership role in eXp’s Pride Network. 

It’s fertile ground, now especially since eXp announced in April that it is a Champion Level Sponsor of the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance, one of the nation’s leading LGBTQ+ trade organizations with more than 2,200 members. 

“eXp has given me a piece of what I was missing, which is the opportunity to grow into my leadership voice,’’ she said.

When Your eXp Tribe Dovetails Perfectly With Your LGBTQ+ Tribe

Jessica and her wife, the artist Roberta Nieto, have always been hard-working risk takers. The pair married on July 4, 2014, just so they could cap the night with a rousing round of fireworks. They both changed their last names and took the name “Nieto” because it was the signature Roberta had long attached to her sculpture and paintings and her mother’s maiden name.

Now “Robbie” has launched a new boutique career restoring sculptures for hotels. They travel a little bit more and love a week in Mexico or Italy. That kind of reward seems fitting now. Before joining eXp, Jessica would take extra time to help other agents. Robbie would ask if it was worth it. 

“My wife would always hear me on the phone over the past years and say ‘Why are you on the phone burning yourself out training people, what’s in it for you?’ With eXp, my wife doesn’t say that anymore. Whatever I give, I am getting back,’’ Jessica said. 

Learn More About Jessica Nieto:

Years in real estate: Worked in industry since 2008; licensed in 2013

Gross sales and transactions in 2021: $142 million on 240 transactions personal production with business partner

Brokerage history:

• eXp Realty (March 2020-current)
• Brooke Realty (February 2012-March 2020)

Main territory: I’m not geographically bound, thanks to eXp Realty.  Licensed in California, Oregon, Washington. Primary market is Southern California (all counties).

Main focus: Investments; 1-4 units; multi-family and single-family residential

Accolades, accomplishments & awards:

• Board member of ONE eXp
• Co-chair of the eXp Pride Network
• C2EX Realtors Commitment to Excellence 2022
• At Home With Diversity Certification 2022® 
• eXp Realty Chairman’s Excellence Award – Double Diamond 2021
• ICON Agent 2020-2021
• Top 500 Real Producers San Diego & Sacramento 2022

When and why did you join eXp?

“We moved our boutique brokerage to eXp in March of 2020.  This allowed us the opportunity to conduct business in multiple markets without having to allocate all of our resources and focus on managing the brokerage operations side of our business.  eXp offered us the ability to leverage an amazing platform to train new agents by plugging them into fast-track programs to scale their business.  Retaining hot agent talent as a small brokerage was challenging!  eXp Realty’s platform was built for this.  Rising stars in our organization have the ability to grow into their own brand and successful business venture and still remain in our revenue share group and eXp family.”

What makes eXp special to you?

“When eXp hears ‘no,’ it means ‘not yet.’ “ 

What is one thing about eXp that surprised you?

“What I needed the most in my professional life was not obvious to me until several months after joining eXp Realty when I attended a conference.  I was so driven, so serious, and tirelessly working.  Suddenly, I realized that eXp had changed my perspective. I added FUN to my core values and a new version of success was unfolding for me.”

Have you had any experience or success around eXp’s global revenue share and commercial businesses yet?

“I reached out to my friend Alan Fernandez in 2020 and invited him to EXPCON in Las Vegas in 2021.  Alan was studying law and joined us.  He met (eXp Global President) Michael Valdes and made friends internationally.   He says he is so grateful to have been introduced to eXp Realty, it has shaped his career path and goals to be an attorney and real estate entrepreneur in Mexico.  There is so much opportunity with eXp Global and eXp Commercial, it’s endless.”

What kind of collaboration have you experienced at eXp?

“I could write a series of books about my personal experiences of collaboration at eXp Realty.  Seriously.  A paragraph is not enough room to include all of the impactful people I have made friends with at eXp.  The Workplace platform and our metaverse have given us additional ways to connect and create or experience educational programming for and with our colleagues.  Board meetings as an avatar, sharing laughs poolside in Cabo,  rooftop networking in DC, video conference panel interviews, you name it — we are connecting and collaborating every day!”

Best tip to share with other agents:

“Take lots of notes, then extract a few action items from your notes and crush them.”

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