Just BE

What Just BE does

Founded in 2018 and headquartered at 660 Pennsylvania Ave. SE in Washington, D.C., Just BE is a residential real estate brokerage serving the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) metropolitan area. The company employs approximately 15 people, including six licensed real estate agents and two current interns, and operates under an affiliation with Compass Real Estate as broker of record. Just BE represents buyers and sellers of single-family homes, row houses, townhomes, and condominiums across roughly 100 neighborhoods in the DMV, with a proprietary client web portal that tracks deal milestones and pushes email notifications, an SEO-oriented neighborhoods content layer, an active blog on DMV market conditions, and a monthly email newsletter.

The firm's revenue model is transaction-based commissions earned on home purchase and sale closings, with quote-based rates not publicly disclosed. Its go-to-market is sales-led: agents generate buyer and seller relationships via direct outreach, referrals, community presence, and an organic content engine spanning neighborhood guides, blog, newsletter, and social channels on Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, and Yelp. Customers are exclusively individual consumers transacting primary or secondary residences; there is no enterprise, institutional, or B2B segment.

The team is led by Vice President and Realtor Jay Bauer and includes five other licensed agents whose prior experience spans management consulting, television production, professional woodworking, K-12 education (City Year and Teach For America), public accounting, real estate investment banking, and commercial real estate private equity. Just BE carries no external funding, no identified parent entity, and operates from a single Washington D.C. headquarters with no published financials.

Name

Just BE

Legal name

Just BE

Website

https://justbere.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Just BE is a Washington, D.C.-based residential real estate brokerage affiliated with Compass, representing home buyers and sellers across the DMV (D.C., Maryland, Virginia) via six licensed agents and a proprietary client portal for transaction tracking.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Residential Real Estate Brokerage

NAICS

Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers (53121), Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers (531210), Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers (5312)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Buyer Representation Services (BPAJAAAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Seller Representation & Listing Services (BPAJAAAK)

Keywords

• Residential real estate brokerage
• Home buyer representation
• Home seller representation
• Real estate client portal
• DMV real estate services

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Real Estate Commission: Traditional real estate brokerage earning commissions on home purchase and sale transactions. The company represents buyers and sellers in residential real estate transactions across the DMV (D.C., Maryland, Virginia) market.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Just BE is a DC-based residential real estate brokerage that represents buyers and sellers in home purchase and sale transactions across the Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) metro area. Licensed agents affiliated with Compass Real Estate deliver full-service representation — pricing strategy, staging guidance, offer negotiation, and transaction management — supported by a proprietary client portal that tracks every step of each deal and sends email alerts at milestones.

Product overview

Just BE is a DC-based real estate startup offering a unified suite of services centered on buyer and seller representation in the DMV area (Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia). The core offering consists of home buying services, home selling services, and a client portal for deal tracking. Supporting these are neighborhood information resources covering over 100 communities and a blog providing market insights. The company positions itself as a technology-forward real estate firm, emphasizing innovation and digital tools to enhance the home buying and selling experience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Home Buying Services Real estate buyer representation services helping individual clients find and purchase homes in the DC metro area (D.C., Maryland, and Virginia), with personalized guidance through the home search and purchase process.
• Home Selling Services Real estate seller representation services leveraging over 15 years of DMV expertise to help clients maximize value for their homes, including staging guidance, pricing strategy, and offer negotiation.
• Client Portal Password-protected online platform where Just BE clients can track real estate deals, receive email notifications on deal progress, and access transaction documents and updates.
• Neighborhoods Information Portal Comprehensive neighborhood guide covering Washington D.C., Virginia, and Maryland communities, providing local insights and market information for areas including Adams Morgan, Georgetown, Capitol Hill, Arlington, Bethesda, and over 100 other neighborhoods.
• Real Estate Blog Educational blog featuring DMV market insights, seasonal guides, and real estate advice including articles on home buying affordability, spring market preparation, community events, and market trends.
• Client Testimonials Platform Platform showcasing verified client reviews and testimonials for agents including Jay Bauer, Edward Hunt, and Zack London, highlighting successful transactions across buying and selling scenarios.

Quantifiable outcome

• Condo sold within 1 week at above initial asking price
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Compass Real EstatecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorJust BE agents operate under Compass Real Estate, a licensed real estate brokerage that provides technology platform, administrative support, and brand infrastructure. Jay Bauer and team members (Zack London, Brian Morse) are affiliated with Compass as their broker of record. The Compass affiliation provides agents with marketing tools and a transaction management platform.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Broad incumbents

• Compass: The licensed brokerage under which Just BE's agents operate. Compass is a national tech-enabled residential brokerage with a large agent roster, proprietary technology platform, and broad U.S. footprint—directly comparable on service offering and technology stack, but at much larger scale.
• eXp Realty: Cloud-based, agent-centric brokerage operating nationwide with a tech platform and virtual model. Comparable as a tech-enabled residential brokerage with a strong portal and low-overhead agent model, though typically less localized than Just BE.
• Coldwell Banker Realty: National residential brokerage brand with established DMV presence. Comparable as a full-service buyer/seller representation firm, but operates at significantly larger scale with broader geographic reach and brand recognition.
• Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices: National residential brokerage brand with a strong DMV franchise network. Comparable as a full-service buyer/seller representation firm with similar commission-based model, but at much larger scale and brand footprint.

Direct peers

• Washington Fine Properties: A boutique, DMV-focused luxury residential brokerage also serving D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. Directly comparable as a small, high-touch, locally-branded competitor targeting similar buyer and seller segments in the same geography.
• Long & Foster Real Estate: Mid-Atlantic-focused residential brokerage with deep DMV presence. Comparable in core service offering (buyer and seller representation) but operates at much larger scale with affiliated services and broad regional coverage.
• TTR Sotheby's International Realty: A leading luxury residential brokerage in the D.C. metro area, including Virginia and Maryland. Directly comparable as a DMV-focused full-service brokerage representing buyers and sellers in higher-end markets, with similar neighborhood-expertise positioning.
• McEnearney Associates: DMV-based independent residential brokerage serving D.C., Northern Virginia, and Maryland. Comparable in geography, service model, and buyer/seller representation focus, with a similar locally-rooted, relationship-driven positioning.
• Redfin: Tech-enabled residential brokerage with DMV service and a proprietary consumer portal. Comparable in tech-led brokerage approach and customer-facing deal tracking, but operates at national scale and is publicly listed.
• The Agency: Boutique full-service residential brokerage with presence in luxury and mid-market segments. Comparable in client experience focus and tech-enabled marketing, though typically positioned in the luxury tier with national rather than DMV-specific reach.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/JustBEathome
• Facebookfacebook.com/JustBE.realestate
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/justbere
• Instagraminstagram.com/justbe_re

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Just BE