Zak Freedman and Nicole Truszkowski Are Redefining Luxury Real Estate on California’s Coast

Zak Freedman and Nicole Truszkowski lead Truszkowski Freedman & Associates, the top-performing luxury real estate team on the Monterey Peninsula. Their approach combines precision, discretion, and what they describe as white-glove representation at the highest level. Together, they've built a reputation across Carmel, Pebble Beach, and Big Sur that centers on unwavering client advocacy and results that consistently break records.

The team has been responsible for some of the region's most notable transactions, including the highest sale in Carmel's history at $40 million, which took place off-market. They've also represented landmark properties like the Betty White Estate, Bien Sur, Casa Luna, and the Dragon House. Each sale reflects their ability to navigate complex negotiations and work with legacy-level assets.

"We disrupt the luxury real estate industry by operating more like a creative agency, data lab, and negotiation think tank than a traditional brokerage team," they explained. Their process blends cinematic storytelling, advanced analytics, and precision-targeted global distribution to create demand around properties that might otherwise remain invisible to the broader market.

A Strategy Built on Transparency and Data

What sets TFA apart is how they think about real estate. They question every assumption about how luxury homes should be marketed or sold. Zak's background in creative direction, digital strategy, and high authority brand building merges with Nicole's decades of elite representation in Pebble Beach and Big Sur. The result is a strategy with zero wasted motion and maximum impact.

"We add value through radical transparency, aggressive problem solving, and a data-first advisory model that outperforms traditional intuition-based real estate," they said. The team has generated multi-million-view campaigns for individual listings while simultaneously building private off-market ecosystems for founders, legacy estate owners, and ultra-high-net-worth clients who value discretion.

Their work proves that with the right narrative, technology, and psychological understanding of buyers, even the rarest coastal properties can transcend the local market and capture global attention.

Solving Problems Money Can't Fix

The clients who come to TFA often face challenges that go beyond financials. Privacy concerns, legacy level decision making, complex family dynamics, misinformation about value, and the fear of choosing the wrong advisor for an eight-figure asset are common threads. Many arrive overwhelmed by noise from competing agents, conflicting valuations, and marketing that doesn't reflect the caliber of their property.

TFA gives them clarity, control, and a strategic roadmap tailored to their exact goals. They translate complicated market data into actionable decisions and build narratives that elevate a property's emotional and historical significance. Their global marketing puts homes in front of the exact buyers who will value them most.

"The ideal outcome for our clients is simple: they feel protected, fully informed, and empowered, and they achieve a result that exceeds both their financial expectations and their stress tolerance," they said. With TFA, a home isn't just sold. It's positioned, presented, and championed at the level it deserves. The team also works with first-time home buyers and local small business owners. For them, luxury isn't a price point. It's an experience they deliver regardless of price.

Expanding and Breaking Records

TFA has crossed over $100 million in sales for 2025. They recently represented both the buyers and sellers of Bien Sur, now the most viewed listing on social media in the region's history, with more than 10 million views. They also represented both sides of Casa Luna, designed by a legendary Big Sur architect.

The team is in the middle of a major expansion, bringing the international luxury powerhouse Engel & Völkers to Carmel and Pebble Beach. This move will introduce a new standard of global reach, digital sophistication, and cross-border buyer connectivity to the Monterey Peninsula.

Their biggest achievement remains the consistent representation of the most iconic and culturally significant properties in the area. The Betty White estate alone generated more than 1,000 global press features and over 2 billion media impressions. Collectively, these landmark sales have become the most widely covered and talked about transactions in local history, solidifying TFA as the trusted choice for legacy properties and top-tier clientele. Trusted by industry leaders, founders, celebrities, and multi-generational estate owners, the team excels at navigating the deals that matter most.

You can learn more about Truszkowski Freedman & Associates at: https://truszkowskifreedman.com/