Get to Know the Broker: Michael Martirena of Compass
Luxury real estate adviser Michael Martirena from Compass is known for his consistency and performance among the ultra-high-net-worth clients he works with in Florida’s Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.
Together with his business partner Ivan Chorney, Martirena is part of the Ivan & Mike Team at Compass, where they utilize their decades of experience to support clients who are buying and selling some of the Sunshine State’s most beautiful properties.
In 2025 alone, Martirena closed on $298.32 million in sales, and has done more than $2 billion in closed sales over the course of his career.
Commercial Observer caught up recently with Martirena for a series called “Get to Know the Broker,” where we connect with residential brokers to learn more about what makes them tick.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Commercial Observer: What has been the biggest deal of your career so far?
Michael Martirena: Selling South Flagler House in West Palm Beach for $38 million. Not long ago a number like that lived in Miami Beach and nowhere else. Being on the other end of it in West Palm told me the map had genuinely redrawn itself, and that the buyers at the very top were no longer thinking about South Florida in the old geography. The deal itself was the result of years of being in the right rooms long before there was anything to sell.
What’s your career Everest?
Building something that does not need me in the room. Anyone can grind. The harder thing is a business that performs at the highest level whether I am on a call or on a beach with my wife and kids, and that is genuinely what I am working on right now. Ambitious growth without giving up peace, family, integrity or quality of life. All of it at once is the summit.
Who has been your biggest influence?
My father. Everything I believe about doing what you said you would do came from watching him, and I am trying to hand the same thing to my son.
Beyond that, Tony Robbins and the coaches I have kept around me for 20 years, because mindset is not a soft thing in this business, it is the whole thing.
And my business partner Ivan Chorney, who drives me to be better everyday.
Who is your favorite architect/designer of all time?
The late Zaha Hadid. Nobody bent a building like she did. She made a line do something it was not supposed to be able to do, and she did it without ever making the space feel cold. Miami is lucky to have a piece of her.
What is your funniest deal story?
Early on, I showed up to meet a very serious client in a full suit and tie, determined to look the part. He walked in wearing shorts and a T-shirt, and so did everyone with him. I spent the entire day as the most overdressed man in the room.
It taught me something I still use: The client is not looking for a costume, they are looking for someone who actually knows the market. I have never tried that hard to look important since.
What TV show are you currently binging?
“Ted Lasso.” It is not really about soccer, it is about belief and standards and what happens when someone decides to treat people better than the situation requires.
What is your silliest pet peeve?
People who do not respect time. Be on time. I know this is supposed to be a silly answer, and honestly this one is not silly to me at all. If someone is late without a word, they have told me something about how they will handle everything else.
What’s on your Spotify playlist?
Tropical house, almost always. It puts me in the right state before a showing or a hard call, and it is the one thing that works whether I am presenting at 8 a.m. in the morning or coming down from a long day.
Amanda Schiavo can be reached at aschiavo@commercialobserver.com.
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Source: commercialobserver.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.