Extended Family

A mother-daughter real estate duo considers team members and clients part of their family.

For Cari Corbalis and Britt Austin—two Realtors^® specializing in South Bay residential sales—work truly is a family affair. Professional and personal lines tend to blur at their firm, Cari & Britt Properties, which the mother-daughter pair started in 2011.

“We treat each client if they are our own family, and we advise them as such,” says Cari, who embarked on her career after taking a real estate law class in college and discovering her passion for the industry. “They know they can trust us, and we truly want the best for them.”

As the #1 producing team at Vista Sotheby’s Realty for the past four years, Cari and her daughter Britt—a business-minded, tech-savvy marketing expert—are thrilled to run their business together. “The highlight of my career is when Britt started working with me,” Cari says. “I wake up every day excited that I get to spend the day with her.”

Britt agrees, sharing that her mom is her role model. “She is the hardest-working person I know, while still having fun and maintaining a strict moral compass. I’ve never seen anyone with as much energy as my mom.”

Since the family dynamic is integral to their business, when it came time to expand their team, it only made sense to do so with people who felt like family. Enter Forrest Graham and Katie Cimmarusti, the firm’s associate agents.

“Katie and Forrest are a perfect fit for our team,” says Britt. “We got lucky that these two came on board. They both keep our team working like a well-oiled machine, and we truly love spending time together outside of work as well!”

These professionals have years of real estate experience and are all at different stages in their lives—giving the team a unique perspective to guide clients no matter their needs. “It’s important that everyone on our team is happy and feels supported,” says Cari. “Our team is not just about work; it’s an extension of our family.”

A Florida transplant and professional musician, Forrest has played live music in front of crowds for years. He also has hundreds of real estate transactions under his belt. “Being a musician ultimately taught me how to market myself, remain confident in the most uncomfortable situations such as auditions, and trust my creative, out-of-the-box intuition,” he says.

Forrest is a devoted husband and father and enjoys starting the day with a long walk while listening to a podcast or audiobook. He loves the coastal lifestyle and the dining, nightlife and breweries of the South Bay.

Katie is a Studio City native and a graduate of Loyola Marymount University. She owned a successful aircraft company for 16 years before delving into real estate development and design, and ultimately transitioning to residential real estate. Her experience flipping homes gives her a keen eye to help clients searching for their perfect home to see diamonds in the rough.

Katie enjoys going to the beach, playing tennis and pickleball, and attending classes at The Blueprint LA gym. She resides in Palos Verdes Estates with her two young sons and husband, who has worked in commercial real estate for 25 years. “I love bouncing ideas off him,” she says. “He’s always been my biggest cheerleader, supporter and role model.”

For Cari and Britt, who are proud to be distinguished as two of Sotheby’s International Top 100 agents, the weekends are all about spending time with extended family and friends. To stay fit, Cari cycles around Palos Verdes and Britt attends Pilates classes.

Ultimately, this work family is hyper-focused on their clients, utilizing their team dynamic to maintain a high level of service and make all their behind-the-scenes work appear seamless.

“I love being part of families embarking on their next stage of life,” Britt shares. “I’m so entrenched in the community that I can share plenty of firsthand experience with people who are new to the area.”

“I like to make our clients’ transactions as easy as possible,” Cari says. “We put ourselves in our clients’ shoes, and they love how attentive, accommodating and available we are. We always go the extra mile.”