Johnny Johnston

Johnny Johnston hails from Vail, Colorado. He spent his youth frolicking through the Rockies adorned in lederhosen. His devastating good looks got him into Brown University and he headed East to study History, Literature and Architecture. Afterward, he moved to Los Angeles in search of the perfect Spanish villa. Looking at property, he was confronted with life’s more confounding questions: Do the laws of thermodynamics apply equally to the Mid-Century and to the Craftsman? Does a modern home need a modern man? What is modern… and what is man? Toward this end, he went to seminary to pursue a Masters degree in Theology.

Trading the meta-physical for the physical, he turned his focus to real estate in 2000. With over 20 years in the business, he and his team have established themselves as one of the most respected real estate teams in California. With a clientele steeped in the entertainment industry, they have represented Grammy Winners, Oscar Winners, Emmy Winners, and occasionally clients who haven't won anything.  He has represented principals from more than 20 countries and was in the top 1% of agents at Sotheby’s International Realty for over a decade before Compass CEO, Robert Reffkin, asked him to help launch Compass' presence on the West Coast. As a founding member of Compass' Hollywood office, Johnny spent 7 years helping build Compass become the #1 Brokerage in the nation, before being asked to head the Sports and Entertainment Division in the Santa Barbara and Montecito Offices. The scope of his team's business now spans from Los Angeles, to Santa Barbara, Montecito and Ojai - connecting Southern California to the Central Coast with expertise throughout the entire coastal corridor.

Johnny, his wife (fashion designer Heidi Merrick) and their two children split their time between an apple farm in Carpinteria, a Mediterranean compound in Silver Lake, and a ski lodge in Vail. Heidi forbids him from indulging in lederhosen, but late at night he still dares to dream.

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