Zia

What Zia does

Zia is a Santa Barbara-based residential real estate sales team operating under the eXp Realty brokerage (DRE # 01878277), founded in 2006 by Daniel Zia. The firm serves high-net-worth home buyers and sellers in the Santa Barbara and Montecito luxury market through a specialized team model that separates buyer's agents, listing agents, and administrative support. Over an 18-year operating history, Zia reports approximately $1.5 billion in cumulative local sales volume and roughly 1,100 homes sold.

The company has expanded well beyond traditional brokerage. Its product surface now includes Cash Offer and Home Trade-In programs, an off-market listings database of more than 150 properties, a Sports & Entertainment Division, a Commercial Real Estate Services line led by Alan Siebenaler, and a Real Estate Development Services arm with branded projects including Oak Terrace and The Woods. Internationally, Zia markets listings through 90+ web platforms and maintains a direct mail database of more than 30,000 contacts. The firm holds the "#1 most reviewed" real estate team designation in its market and ranks on Real Trends.

The business model is primarily commission-based, deriving gross commission income from residential and increasingly commercial real estate transactions, supplemented by developer margin on in-house development projects. Zia is privately held, founder-owned, with no disclosed outside funding and 11–50 employees. The supporting material contains no evidence of proprietary technology systems or AI/ML capabilities; the technology stack described is standard real estate marketing infrastructure (web syndication, direct mail database, off-market inventory database) rather than a differentiated platform.

Name

Zia

Legal name

Zia Group

Website

https://ziagroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Zia is a Santa Barbara-based luxury real estate team under eXp Realty, founded in 2006 by Daniel Zia, serving high-net-worth buyers and sellers in Santa Barbara and Montecito with residential, commercial, development, and specialty transaction programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Residential Real Estate Brokerage

NAICS

Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers (5312), Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers (53121)

SIC

Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531), Real Estate Dealers (For Their Own Account) (6532)

akta.pro primary industry

Real Estate Buyer Representation (FSAEAJAG)

Keywords

• Residential real estate brokerage
• Luxury home sales
• Commercial real estate services
• Real estate development marketing
• Property search portal

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Barbara

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Real Estate Commission: Zia Group earns commissions on residential real estate transactions, typically a percentage of the sale price. As an eXp Realty affiliated team, they operate under the brokerage's commission structure. They also offer specialized services including real estate development sales, commercial real estate, and home trade-in programs that generate transaction revenue.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Zia Group is a full-service residential real estate team operating under eXp Realty that helps clients buy and sell homes in the Santa Barbara and Montecito luxury markets. Service offerings span buyer representation, listing/seller representation with multi-channel marketing (digital, direct mail, premium print), and specialized programs such as a Home Trade-In (buy-before-sell), Off-Market Listings access, a Cash Offer Program, and Home Value Analysis. The team also provides commercial real estate sales/leasing and real estate development sales and marketing services.

Product overview

Zia Group is a real estate team operating as a unified service offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core offering combines home buying and selling services with specialized programs including the Home Trade-In Program (enabling buy-before-sell transactions), Off-Market Listings (exclusive access to private listings), Home Value Analysis, and the Cash Offer Program. Additional specialized services include Real Estate Development Services for developers, Commercial Real Estate Services for retail/office/industrial properties, and Neighborhood Finder for area exploration. The company also develops branded property communities including Oak Terrace (modern single-family homes in San Roque) and The Woods (luxury estates). The Home Search Portal serves as the primary digital property search tool for customers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Oak Terrace: Santa Barbara's first all modern-contemporary single family home community featuring 6 homes built on a new cul-de-sac in the San Roque neighborhood.
• Home Trade-In Program

Products and services

• Home Search Portal
• Home Trade-In Program
• Real Estate Development Services
• Commercial Real Estate Services
• Off-Market Listings
• Home Value Analysis
• Cash Offer Program
• Oak Terrace Development
• The Woods Development

Quantifiable outcome

• Homes sell 5% above average market price
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• eXp RealtycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorZia Group operates as a real estate team affiliated with eXp Realty (DRE # 01878277), one of the largest tech-enabled real estate brokerages. This affiliation provides the team with brokerage support, licensing, and access to eXp's platform while maintaining their independent team brand and operations in the Santa Barbara and Montecito markets.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/theziagroup

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Zia