‘Million Dollar Listing’: How Did Josh Altman and Fredrik Eklund Just Lose $612,500 (and ‘Burn’ $50,000)?
In a total real estate heartbreaker, Fredrik Eklund and Josh Altman from Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles walk away with nothing after their $29 million listing in Beverly Park goes bust.
After playing a little hardball with buyers, Altman and Eklund thought they had the sale in the bag … but left empty-handed and said goodbye to their $612,500 commission (not to mention $50,000 in combined marketing dollars). So what happened?
Josh Altman and Fredrik Eklund are ready to close this ‘Million Dollar Listing’ deal but …
Altman didn’t want to counter after the initial offer, which the seller’s agent loved. Eklund worried it would ruin the sale and in fact, at one point, the seller wanted to fire Eklund from the deal. But Altman insisted they were a team and they managed to bring the seller a better offer.
The buyer initially offered $22 million and Eklund agreed that not countering worked in their favor. “Because they actually came up,” Eklund explained to the seller’s agent, Yuri. “To $24.5 million. Cash, Ready to close.” Eklund and Altman look pretty pleased and ready to close the deal.
“I spoke with the family yesterday and they are absolutely non-negotiable,” Yuri explained. He added, “$28.5 [million].” Altman and Eklund looked stunned because the seller won’t budge from the asking price.
The brokers try to get the seller’s agent to change his mind
Yuri tries to explain. “They understand this is a little higher than the market price,” he says. “But still if it’s not $28.5, they would like to postpone and take it off the market.”
Altman looks floored. “Oh you gotta be kidding me,” he says.
“Wait for … maybe a year,” Yuri suggests.
Eklund grapples for some context. “The conversation where they are deciding whether to keep it or take it off the market was at the $22 [million] level. We’re coming to you with new information. Don’t you even wanna run it by them at $24.5 [million]?”
Fredrik Eklund and Josh Altman lose $612,500 in comission
Unfortunately for the brokers, Yuri holds firm. “I’ve known this family for almost 11 years,” he says. “And if they say no. It means no.”
“Why don’t we just take a step back, we’ll wait,” Altman says. “We’ll put the buyer on ice.” The brokers are clearly trying to save the deal.
But Yuri lowers the boom. “They aren’t selling out of desperation,” he says. “They’re selling because … they’re selling. And that’s what I’m gonna get, what they expect to get.”
“I understand that the owners are maybe a little disconnected,” Altman says in a confessional. “Because they’re overseas, they’re in Russia. But come on. You gotta respond. And especially an offer like this, you can’t just take it off the market. Are you kidding me?”
Yuri is not playing and Altman and Eklund look extremely pained. They also look depressed as their lost commission of $612,500 is flashed on the screen.
Plus, the ‘Million Dollar Listing’ brokers eat their $50,000 in marketing dollars
This would have been Eklund’s first sale in Beverly Park – and it didn’t happen. “What a giant waste of time,” Altman exclaims after they leave the house.
“Listen, the one thing that I feel good about is that we did our job,” Eklund says. “The $24.5 [million] in the end is actually a really good number. We did what we were supposed to do.”
But Altman is furious, punctuating about the waste of time and resources plunged in the lost listing. “That was three months, nonstop work, phone calls and we get nothing,” Altman says in a confessional. “I literally burnt $25,000 and Fredrik literally burnt $25,000. Remember that next time you wanna be a Realtor!”
