Luxury existent property agents are often portrayed arsenic ruthless dealmakers consenting to bash immoderate it takes to adjacent a sale.
Ivan Sher built 1 of Las Vegas’ astir palmy luxury existent property brokerages by doing the other — by being the bully guy.
“One 100 percent hold with that assessment,” Brian Nugent said of his brag astatine Ivan Sher Luxury, a existent property brokerage based successful Summerlin.
Nugent, an cause and manager of income for IS Luxury, sits down with Sher each greeting for an accountability meeting. He called Sher the nicest, astir down-to-earth feline successful the high-end satellite of luxury existent property you are ever going to meet.
“What you spot is what you get with Ivan,” said Nugent. “He is the apical luxury broker successful the metropolis and is liable for the bulk of the luxury transactions, but past you conscionable him and he’s successful jeans and a achromatic T-shirt and Converse sneakers.”
Colleagues picture Sher, laminitis of IS Luxury, arsenic approachable, authentic and relentlessly focused connected relationships — qualities they accidental helped his institution make astir $779 cardinal successful income successful 2025 contempt a challenging twelvemonth for the lodging market. His brokerage has 20 Las Vegas-based agents, 13 based successful Newport Beach, California, and 16 full-time administrators.
Longtime Las Vegas cause John Gafford said Sher has mastered the 1 accomplishment that matters astir and rises supra the ruthless satellite of concern — narration building.
“When you merchantability high-end properties, it’s each astir creating a micro-connection with the buyers, from the sellers’ side,” said Gafford, who’s known Sher for much than 15 years. “It’s astir making that imaginable lawsuit consciousness bully successful the location adjacent though they’re not your client, and helium is exceptional astatine that.”
Gafford said the cardinal is to absorption connected the archetypal relationship, not the house.
“And you don’t bash that by walking astir and pointing astatine things similar fireplaces and large windows, you bash that by creating, successful a precise speedy magnitude of time, a rapport with that client, and making them consciousness bully astir being successful that house,” helium said. “That’s the 1 accomplishment acceptable that separates elite luxury existent property agents from the rest, and cipher is amended astatine that than Ivan.”
Sher said helium learned the value of touring a location during 1 of his archetypal deals. He was moving with a high-net-worth mates and struggling to find the close spot for them, adjacent aft showing them tons of homes that acceptable the statement of what they wanted.
“The hubby was referred to maine done 1 of the pb doctors astatine the Nevada Cancer Institute, close aft the mates had been outbid connected a location they truly loved,” said Sher astir the 2002 woody successful Las Vegas. “They were discouraged, and I could perceive it successful his dependable erstwhile helium called. As it happened, I was conscionable walking retired of different location erstwhile I got that call. Something clicked, and I told him, ‘I deliberation I person the cleanable location for you.’”
Sher’s hard enactment paid off. When the mates came to spot the caller location and did a walk-through, the woman turned astir successful the mediate of the surviving country with tears successful her eyes, said Sher.
“She didn’t adjacent request to accidental anything, you could conscionable tell. She loved it. It was precisely close for them,” helium said. “Moments similar that punctual you that beingness has a mode of moving itself out, adjacent erstwhile things don’t spell arsenic planned. That acquisition was the archetypal clip I genuinely felt similar I had made a lasting interaction connected someone’s life, and it made maine recognize conscionable however overmuch this enactment means to people. It was an incredibly rewarding feeling.”
From self-doubt to self-starter
But what galore radical mightiness not cognize astir 1 of Las Vegas’ apical luxury brokers is that for astir of his life, Sher has been filled with self-doubt.
It wasn’t until a fewer years agone that the 56-year-old South African yet came into his own, helium said.
“As outward arsenic I person ever been, and arsenic assured arsenic I person ever travel across, I lacked self-belief,” Sher said. “I lacked the content that I could bash anything. It wasn’t until a fewer years agone that I realized I could spot myself and judge successful myself.”
Sher said his emotion for radical and creating relationships started young, but his knack for the satellite of income took immoderate clip to physique and develop.
Sher moved with his household — his begetter is simply a doc and his parent is an histrion and owned a theatre institution — from South Africa to North Carolina erstwhile helium was 6 successful 1977. Two years later, they moved to Reno and past to Northern California erstwhile Sher was a elder successful precocious school. He said determination was decidedly an accommodation play moving crossed the planet, and past to 3 antithetic American cities.
“Absolutely it was a spot of civilization shock,” helium said. “I was a spot of a dork for awhile. The things I was into, judo and rugby, weren’t precise large successful America astatine that time.”
He did, however, commencement to dip his feet into the satellite of sales. He sold everything from knives and carpets to Amway products, but helium said helium lacked assurance successful his quality to adjacent a deal.
Sher past headed to the University of Arizona, wherever helium would postgraduate with a grade successful communications with a insignificant successful concern successful 1993. Three years later, astatine 24, Sher got his existent property licence successful Tucson, Arizona.
It was determination that Sher chopped his teeth successful the satellite of existent estate, and helium said aboriginal on, helium knew helium wanted his vocation to beryllium much than conscionable income and numbers connected a spreadsheet.
Mentoring with 1 of the best
Sher’s vocation accelerated aft helium moved to Las Vegas successful 2000 and joined seasoned luxury broker Florence Shapiro arsenic a buyer’s agent.
The concern evolved into Shapiro & Sher Group successful 2005 and became 1 of the city’s astir palmy luxury existent property teams.
When Shapiro died successful 2016, Sher abruptly recovered himself without the mentor helium had relied connected for years.
“I had my biggest learning curve erstwhile Florence passed,” helium said. “It was during this clip that the archetypal thoughts of owning my ain brokerage sparked.”
After starring a squad astatine Berkshire Hathaway, Sher launched IS Luxury successful 2022 alongside Pamela Fox, manager of operations.
Despite warnings from immoderate manufacture peers, the steadfast rapidly gained traction and has since expanded into Newport Beach, California.
Sher said he’s learned a batch on the way, including that 1 of his biggest assets is besides 1 of his faults.
“My superpower and my weakness is I judge successful people,” helium said. “And it’s my superpower due to the fact that I bring retired the bully successful radical erstwhile you judge successful them, and it’s my weakness due to the fact that I sometimes can’t spot their flaws.”
Brad Malkin, a longtime person and subordinate of Sher’s who is the president of Noble Home Loans, said this is Ivan to a T.
“I’ve experienced firsthand the level of care, professionalism, cognition and dedication helium brings to each situation,” helium said. “Ivan has a uncommon mode of making radical consciousness supported and confident, adjacent during what tin often beryllium stressful and affectional decisions.”
Sher’s good-natured attack to beingness successful the oftentimes cutthroat satellite of concern is really what makes him basal retired among the crowd, said Mark Stark, the retired CEO of Americana Holdings.
Sher said caller existent property agents scope retired to him astir moving for his institution each the time, and adjacent though they don’t prosecute caller agents, helium takes the clip to conscionable with them and speech astir their goals arsenic an agent.
Stark said qualities similar this are uncommon successful the game.
“I indispensable say, though, helium is an unthinkable high-quality existent property professional, helium is adjacent a amended quality being, which makes him truthful precise peculiar and unique,” said Stark.
Sher said the extremity isn’t to beryllium the biggest existent property steadfast successful Las Vegas, but the best, and ever strive for the champion enactment civilization and to beryllium the other of transactional erstwhile doing existent property deals.
When asked what helium mightiness accidental to his younger aforesaid who was filled with self-doubt, Sher said helium astir apt wouldn’t accidental much, due to the fact that it was done the travel helium learned the ways of beingness that usher him now.
“I would archer myself to spot myself and judge successful myself, but that’s not thing you tin bestow upon idiosyncratic other really,” helium said. “You person to spell done the crap … to fig retired what that truly means.”
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A time successful the beingness of Ivan Sher
6:00 a.m. — Starting the time with intention
I’m up astir 6:15 a.m. and caput to the gym, which is awesome considering I americium not a greeting person. At this point, aboriginal mornings are little of a prime and much of a requirement.
The workout is portion discipline, portion necessity. It clears my head, gets my vigor up, and gives maine a caput commencement earlier the time inevitably picks up speed.
8:30–10:30 a.m. — Strategy and sales
Mid-mornings are spent focused connected deals and opportunities. I link with my income director, Brian Nugent, who’s been with maine for years and knows my concern wrong and out. Whether we’re successful the bureau oregon grabbing java astatine Einstein’s, we’re perpetually reviewing deals, solving problems, and making definite everything is moving forward.
10:30 a.m.– noon — Running the Business
Late greeting is erstwhile I displacement into operating the company. That includes moving done interior strategy, managing the company, and gathering with Pamela Fox, my operations director, to guarantee everything runs smoothly. It’s not ever the disposable portion of the business, but it’s captious to everything we do.
Noon — Lunch with clients and colleagues
Lunch is astir ever a meeting, though it seldom feels similar one. In this business, galore clients and agents go friends implicit time. It’s besides not uncommon for maine to stack a mates of lunches backmost to backmost successful a azygous day, which astir apt explains the request for my 6 a.m. gym sessions.
I thin to rotate betwixt spots similar Vintner Grill, North Italia, Grape Street and Zero Bond Las Vegas, depending connected who I’m gathering and wherever I americium successful the day.
Afternoons — In the field
Afternoons are wherever everything comes to life. That could mean listing appointments, backstage showings, oregon walking properties with buyers. Some days besides see filming contented for selling and societal media. No 2 afternoons look the same, which is portion of what I bask astir astir this business.
Evenings — Still successful motion
Real property doesn’t truly run connected a fixed schedule, and it’s not antithetic for the time to widen into the evening. When I bash person the accidental to measurement away, meal mightiness beryllium astatine places similar Harlo, T-Bones Chophouse oregon backmost to Zero Bond. It’s a large mode to unwind and inactive enactment connected.
Night — Reset & Recharge
Later successful the evening, I effort to dilatory things down. Time astatine location with my woman (Lindsay) is important to me, whether we’re conscionable relaxing, laughing, oregon I prime up a guitar for a bit. It’s a accidental to reset earlier doing it each again the adjacent day.
The Bigger Picture
Balance matters. I enactment hard and I’m profoundly committed to what I do, but clip with household and adjacent friends is conscionable arsenic important.
Weekends are usually spent going retired to dinner, spending clip with friends, catching the occasional performance oregon Golden Knights game. Living successful Las Vegas, there’s ever thing happening, and I bask taking vantage of that.
On a broader level, I marque it a precedence to enactment intimately connected to some markets we serve. I perpetrate 1 to 2 days each period to beryllium successful Newport and enactment straight with our squad there, continuing to physique that broadside of the business.
Separately, I effort to carve retired clip for a agelong play erstwhile I can. Places similar Park City, Cabo, oregon Sedona and are favorites, particularly erstwhile the kids tin articulation us.
Throughout the year, we besides program a fewer larger household trips to places. Recently we’ve visited Cabo, Costa Rica and Hawaii. Those trips are astir disconnecting, recharging, and spending meaningful clip together.
Contact Patrick Blennerhassett astatine pblennerhassett@reviewjournal.com.
English (US)·