Costello Real Estate & Investments

What Costello Real Estate & Investments does

Costello Real Estate and Investments LLC is a privately held residential real estate brokerage founded in 2014 and headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, with a second regional office in Charlotte. The firm operates as a full-service agent-based brokerage serving home buyers and sellers across North Carolina and South Carolina, with a horizontal customer mix spanning first-time buyers, move-up buyers, downsizers, and luxury consumers via its Blue Diamond Properties sub-brand for homes priced at $1.5 million and above.

The company's product surface centers on a technology-enabled home search platform that aggregates six regional MLS feeds (Canopy MLS, Triangle MLS, Triad MLS, Charleston Trident, Hive MLS, and South Carolina CML) into a single listing experience, complemented by a beta "Search with AI" natural-language property search, an automated home valuation / CMA tool integrating Attom Data and Zillow estimates, a market report module, and an Instant Offers / iBuyer cash-offer channel delivered through a partnership with ZooDealio. Distribution combines direct agent-led sales with self-serve property browsing on the website, MLS syndication for listing exposure, and organic social and content marketing (blog, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube).

Costello monetizes through traditional percentage-based real estate commissions on buyer- and seller-side representation, with rates in the 5–6% range split between sides per industry norm; specific rates are not publicly disclosed. The firm reports 289 active listings, 43,000+ active buyers in its network, 500+ client reviews, and a 4.9/5 Google rating, and appears to be founder/owner-operated with no disclosed PE/VC or parent ownership.

Name

Costello Real Estate & Investments

Legal name

Costello Real Estate and Investments LLC

Website

https://costellorei.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Costello Real Estate and Investments is a privately held, Carolinas-focused residential real estate brokerage using an MLS-aggregated, AI-assisted search platform and a multi-office agent force to serve home buyers, sellers, and luxury clients across North Carolina and South Carolina.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Residential Real Estate Brokerage

NAICS

Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers (531210)

SIC

Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531)

akta.pro primary industry

Traditional Residential Brokerage (Existing Homes) (BPAJAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Residential Investment Property Brokerage (SFR/Small Multifamily) (BPAJAAAE), Residential Real Estate Brokerage (Buy/Sell) (FSAEAJAA)

Keywords

• Residential real estate brokerage
• Home buyer representation
• Home seller representation
• Luxury real estate
• Comparative market analysis

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlotte

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Buyer Representation Commission: Earns commission when agents represent buyers in purchasing a property, typically a percentage of the transaction price
2. Seller Representation Commission: Earns commission when agents list and sell properties for sellers, typically a percentage of the sale price
3. Instant Offers / iBuyer Services: Alternative sell-side service through costello.zoodealio.com providing quick cash offers to sellers

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Costello Real Estate & Investments is a residential real estate brokerage operating across North Carolina and South Carolina, providing home buying and selling representation, an AI-enabled property search platform, home valuation (CMA), market reports, and an instant cash offer (iBuyer) service. The firm also operates a luxury sub-brand, Blue Diamond Properties, for homes priced at $1.5 million and above, and serves clients through offices in Raleigh and Charlotte, NC.

Product overview

Costello Real Estate and Investments LLC operates as a residential real estate brokerage serving the Carolinas, offering a technology-enabled platform with AI-powered search capabilities alongside traditional agent services. The core product is the home search platform featuring 'Search with AI' beta functionality for natural language property queries, complemented by the luxury-focused Blue Diamond Properties sub-brand. Additional offerings include home valuation tools (CMA), market report analytics, an instant cash offer module (Instant Offers via ZooDealio), and full-service buy/sell representation. The company maintains offices in Raleigh and Charlotte, NC, and lists properties across North and South Carolina through multiple MLS feeds including Canopy MLS, Triangle MLS, Triad MLS, and others.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Blue Diamond Properties: Luxury home division featuring properties priced at $1,500,000 and above, marketed as where every home is as beautiful and rare as a blue diamond.

Products and services

• Home Search Platform AI-enhanced property search platform allowing users to search, compare, and select homes, condos, land, and other real estate listings across the Carolinas with filtering by price, beds, baths, and property type. Integrates data from multiple MLS sources.
• Blue Diamond Properties Luxury home division specializing in high-value properties ($1.5M+), representing the company's premium real estate offerings with enhanced exposure across luxury-focused marketing channels.
• Buy with Costello Buyer representation service guiding clients through the home purchasing process with agent support, lender connections, and transaction coordination.
• Sell with Costello Seller representation service including home valuation, marketing strategy, and transaction management to help homeowners sell their properties.
• Home Value / CMA Tool Home valuation tool providing Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) with automated price estimates from Attom Data and Zillow, combined with agent expertise for accurate home pricing.
• Market Report Tool Market snapshot tool providing local and regional market trend data including buyer interest analytics, supply/demand indicators, and comparable sales information.
• Instant Offers Cash offer platform powered by ZooDealio enabling homeowners to receive quick offers on their properties without the traditional listing process.

Quantifiable outcome

• 500+ client reviews across platforms
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability2 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Blue Diamond PropertiescoreOthersLuxury home division of Costello Real Estate positioned as a premium brand for high-value properties. Marketing tagline emphasizes that every home is 'as beautiful and rare as a blue diamond.' Website includes dedicated landing page with minimum price filter of $1,500,000.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Allen Tate Real Estate: Long-established Carolinas-focused residential brokerage operating across the Raleigh, Charlotte, and Triad markets. Most directly comparable peer because of shared geography, similar full-service agent model, and overlapping luxury-segment positioning.
• Compass: Tech-enabled national residential brokerage with aggressive agent recruiting and a heavy technology-and-platform thesis. Comparable because Compass pursues the same agent-mediated, commission-based, technology-augmented model that Costello operates.
• eXp Realty: Cloud-based brokerage with low-overhead agent economics and a sprawling distributed model. Comparable to Costello as a commission-based residential brokerage competing for agent talent in the same Carolinas markets.

Broad incumbents

• Keller Williams Realty: Largest US residential brokerage franchise with deep Carolina market presence. Comparable because it operates a similar agent-roster, commission-based, full-service model across the same geographies.
• Coldwell Banker: Global residential brokerage brand with a Carolinas franchise footprint. Comparable because it competes for both agent talent and consumer mind-share in the same traditional full-service brokerage segment.
• RE/MAX: Globally franchised residential brokerage with significant Carolina market penetration. Comparable because it recruits independent agents under a commission-based model in the same Carolinas metros Costello serves.
• Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices: National residential brokerage franchise aligned with a premium brand. Comparable because it fields full-service agents in the same Carolinas metros and competes for both luxury and entry-level buyer and seller relationships.
• Redfin: Tech-led brokerage operating in select Carolinas metros with an integrated platform. Comparable because it competes for the same buyer-side and seller-side relationships, with a heavier technology and pricing-transparency positioning.

Regional players

• Howard Hanna Real Estate: Large privately held regional brokerage with Carolinas offices. Comparable because it operates a similar mid-size agent-driven model with multi-MLS coverage and emphasis on local market expertise.

Emerging players

• Opendoor: Largest US iBuyer offering direct cash offers to sellers. Comparable because Costello's Instant Offers / ZooDealio partnership explicitly addresses the same convenience-driven seller segment that Opendoor targets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCsvDqneBont5TJhdllFePqA
• Facebookfacebook.com/costellorei
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/costello-real-estate-investments
• Instagraminstagram.com/costelloreinvestments
• Xx.com/CostelloREI4310

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Costello Real Estate & Investments