Matt Clements is an exceptionally well-connected, fourth-generation real estate agent. With 21 years of professional experience, Matt brings a wealth of industry knowledge, a successful track record, and a stellar reputation to his role at Keller Williams Luxury International in his hometown of Laguna Niguel, California, USA. To date, his sales volume exceeds $100 million in California residential home sales. As the CEO of The Clements Group at Keller Williams Realty, Luxury International Division, in Laguna Niguel, he is one of the best in the market. His firm is the largest REALTOR® association in California, with more than 17,000 members. He is marvelously leading a legacy started by his grandfather, who was President of the Anaheim Board of Realtors and a 53-year-old Realtor and CA State Director.
The surfer
Being an athlete himself, Matt has never lost the spirit of sports; he is a devoted Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Lakers fan. Before joining the family business in 2001, he participated as a professional surfer and competed worldwide on the world surf circuit from 1994 to 2000. Matt believes that surfing and real estate have quite a few things in common. He considers both an equally integrated part of life. He has perfectly blended both of his passions into creating a unique brand that fulfills both of his motives. He is widely known in the market and even on social media as SurferRealtor. “There are a lot of common denominators in being a pro surfer and a pro Realtor®,” he highlights. “I finally embraced that I had a story to tell.”
Having right-mindset
Matt entails that in pro surfing, it’s important to have a daily action checklist. One must know what they are doing, as they cannot merely show up and guess. In order to achieve this, one needs to stick to a schedule and continue performing the daily tasks. “In surfing, you show up, practice, and try out new equipment. It might take three months until a maneuver is perfect. In real estate, you practice scripts and listing presentations until it just comes naturally,” he mentions. In his experience, one must stay in the right mindset. He states that if one wants to master something, they have to live, breathe, and think about it all day. “It’s a very strategic part of competing; real estate requires that too,” he adds. “Part of it is always having appointments, reaching out to people, and following up. You have to associate with the best.”
Matt was among the top 150 surfers in the world, and being around those guys motivated him to keep getting better. “I saw how they did their techniques and made certain maneuvers look good, and I wanted to do the same thing,” he continues. “I competed against two world champions—in the US Open of Surfing against Tom Curren (3-time World Champion) and at the Pipeline Pro against the 1st Hawaiian World Champ, Derek Ho—at the heaviest of waves in the world to compete, Pipeline, and it taught me a lot. That’s why I seek out people in real estate who know more than me. I surround myself with the best, and my hero is someone I used to read about and study, Bob Wolff, someone I’ve spent a tremendous amount of time with, been mentored by both in the field and in life, and shared the boardroom table in several leadership committees on the board and on the road traveling; we share common practices, and both work by referral; I’m just 20 years behind him, Bob said to me once, if I knew what you know at your age, I’d really be a force in the game.”
Matt is very proud of what he does and thus says, “I’m doing exactly what he does, and we mirror each other in many ways; we are still very close to this day.” He states that one has to have sponsors. “In pro surfing, you have to have sponsors who pay for your tour so you can be present and compete. I had contracts with Gotcha and Oakley that I held for 10 years. In real estate, my sponsors are my title team, escrow officer, home warranty representative, transaction coordinator, my legal team/general council, and of course my awesome mortgage professionals.”
Matt has been working with his escrow officer for a decade now. His home warranty company for 10 years and his title representative for five years. Sometimes sponsors change, and he states that it’s completely okay to change from time to time to make sure one has the best team around one. “I rode for MCD (More Core Division), an elite international team under the Gotcha International Sportswear surfing brand, and had an unlimited supply of clothes and gear with their logo. In real estate, you have to dress the part to be the part. If I show up in flip-flops and board shorts, my clients probably won’t take me seriously. That’s why I put on a suit every day,” says Matt.
"In real estate, you have to dress the part to be the part. If I show up in flip-flops and board shorts, my clients probably won’t take me seriously. That’s why I put on a suit every day"
The realtor
Matt has a stellar commitment and interest in both the local real estate realm and the industry on a national level. He is the founder of the Orange Country Young Professionals Network, author of the Young Professionals Playbook, and former president of the Orange County REALTORS®, the largest REALTOR® association in California, with over 17,000 members. Today, Matt is well known in Laguna Niguel and beyond as a leader in both his profession and community. He is also the youngest person to ever hold the elected office and Chairman of the Board, President.
Previously, in 2016, he served as Chairman of the biggest young professionals’ network in the country, and was also the State’s YPN President when the group won the YPN State Network of the Year for the National Association of REALTORS® Young Professionals Network (N.A.R. YPN),
Matt has also served several years lobbying in Sacramento and Washington D.C. in leadership on the committees of State Legislative, Land Use, Business Technology, Professional Development, C2EX, locally on Finance, Education, YPN, and in terms of leaders of leaders, simply put, Matt has won the biggest award for the Young Professionals Network issued by the National Association of Realtors, and authored the National YPN Playbook, and sat on the N.A.R.’s YPN advisory board, representing California, Hawaii, and Guam leading the pack. His great-grandmother was also a director for the Garden Grove Association (now Pacific West). He is also on the National Association of REALTORS® C2EX committee, Professional Development, and Board of Directors, and he sits on NAR’s YPN Advisory Board. Matt is currently selling homes and surfing.
