About Living Room Realty · Portland
Living Room Realty is a Portland, Oregon-based, full-service, B Corp-certified real estate brokerage founded in 2008 by Jenelle Isaacson Etzel. The firm specializes in representing buyers and sellers in Portland's inner urban neighborhoods and also offers commercial brokerage, property management, and tenant placement services across five offices in Portland, Manzanita, and Vancouver, WA. The company is widely recognized for its values-driven culture, sustainability practices (City of Portland Gold Sustainability certification, 100% renewable energy), and its pledge to donate 5% of annual profits to local nonprofits through its corporate donor-advised fund and the agent-led Loving Room Fund.
Living Room Realty opened the doors of its first office in March 2009 at 1422 NE Alberta Street in Portland's Alberta Arts neighborhood, in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Founder Jenelle Isaacson Etzel — a former lead singer and guitar player in a female punk band — built the company around the belief that brokers selected for shared values and a sense of purpose would outperform a sales-number-driven culture. That bet paid off: Living Room has grown to more than 110 affiliated broker-agents across five offices (SE Portland at 421 SE 10th Ave, NW Portland at 2050 NW Lovejoy St, Multnomah Village at 7830 SW 35th Ave, Manzanita on the Oregon coast, and Vancouver, WA), placing it among the top 15 real estate companies in Oregon. In 2013, Living Room became the first real estate brokerage on the West Coast to earn Certified B Corporation status, and it remains a member of a global community of companies that balance purpose and profit. The firm is also a City of Portland Gold Sustainability at Work certified office, runs on 100% renewable energy, and staffs Earth Advantage certified brokers. Charitable giving is built into the business model: as a company, Living Room donates 5% of its annual profit to local charities, working with the Oregon Community Foundation on a corporate donor-advised fund that empowers staff to direct grants. Agents contribute a percentage of every commission to the Loving Room Fund, which collectively supports nonprofits currently including the African American Alliance for Homeownership, Hoffman Center for the Arts, Rose Haven, and Taking Ownership PDX. The brokerage has been recognized with Top Workplaces (2014–2016), 100 Best Companies to Work For in Oregon (2017), 100 Best Green Companies (2017), the Oregon Business in Ethics Award (2014), the Willamette Week Best of Portland award (2015), a Portland Business Journal Corporate Philanthropy Award (2022), and an Orchid Award for Jenelle Etzel. Services span residential buying and selling, commercial brokerage, rental tenant placement, and full-service property management, and the firm also offers custom Portland city tours for relocating clients.
- In business
- Founded 2008; first office opened March 2009 — 17 years in business as of 2025 (per BBB)
- Owner
- Jenelle Isaacson Etzel — Founder, President & Owner, Licensed Real Estate Broker in Oregon; also referred to on the team page as 'Jenelle Etzel'. Designated Managing Principal Broker: Julia Robertson (541-505-1111).
- Serves
- Portland, OR (inner-eastside neighborhoods including Alberta Arts, Clinton, Hawthorne, Foster-Powell; NW Portland/Pearl District; Multnomah Village/SW Portland); Manzanita, OR (Oregon coast); Vancouver, WA; broader Portland metro area
- Rating
- Mixed across platforms: Google 4.0 (5 reviews) per pdx.directory; Unilocal 4.6 (20 reviews); FastExpert 5.0/5 (123 reviews); Facebook page 3.2K followers, 86% recommend (7 page reviews); A+ BBB profile (not accredited).
Our Story & Founding
Living Room Realty was founded by Jenelle Isaacson Etzel in 2008 (business started 11/1/2008 per BBB; first office opened March 2009 at 1422 NE Alberta Street in Portland's Alberta Arts neighborhood). Etzel launched the firm during the recession following the financial crisis on the thesis that brokers selected for shared values and a sense of purpose would outperform a sales-number-driven culture. As she told Oregon Community Foundation: 'I made a big bet that people that have been involved in volunteering and giving back, when we came out of the recession, that they were going to be really successful. That bet paid off.' The company has since grown into one of the top 15 real estate firms in Oregon, with more than 110 affiliated broker-agents across five offices.
- Founded 2008 / first office March 2009 at 1422 NE Alberta St
- Founder & Owner: Jenelle Isaacson Etzel
- Headquarters: 421 SE 10th Ave, Portland, OR 97214
- Designated Managing Principal Broker: Julia Robertson (541-505-1111)
- 92+ employees; 110+ affiliated broker-agents; ~$20.5M annual revenue
Our Services
Living Room Realty is a full-service brokerage serving residential buyers, residential sellers, commercial clients, investors, and renters. The firm represents clients across all of inner Portland as well as the Oregon coast and SW Washington, and also provides full property management, tenant placement, and custom relocation city tours for newcomers to Portland.
- Buy a home — buyer representation across Portland's urban neighborhoods
- Sell a home — listing and marketing; the firm notes its average days-on-market is nearly half that of competing brokerages
- Commercial real estate — buying, selling, and leasing for Portland small businesses
- Property management — full-service management for investment property owners
- Tenant placement — rental search and placement for newcomers to Portland
- Custom Portland city tours — for relocating clients (neighborhoods, schools, coffee, trails, etc.)
Our Values & Sustainability
Living Room Realty's identity is built around using business as a force for good. The firm became a Certified B Corporation in 2013 — the first real estate brokerage on the West Coast to do so — and considers the impact of its decisions on staff, agents, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment. Sustainability is operationalized in the offices: 100% renewable energy, City of Portland Gold Sustainability at Work certification, Earth Advantage certified brokers, and an explicit preference for local, organic, and recycled materials.
- Certified B Corporation (2013) — first West Coast real estate brokerage
- City of Portland Gold Sustainability at Work certified office
- 100% renewable energy
- Earth Advantage certified brokers
- We recycle / choose local, organic, or recycled when possible
- Agents are selected first for their personal 'WHY' and alignment with company values
Charitable Giving & the Loving Room Fund
Philanthropy is structurally built into Living Room's business model. As a company, Living Room Realty donates 5% of its annual profit to local charities, channeled through a corporate donor-advised fund at the Oregon Community Foundation that Etzel set up so staff can direct grants. Agents additionally contribute a percentage of every commission to the Loving Room Fund, which collectively decides which nonprofits to support. The firm has also been recognized for long-running community events, including a fall coat drive for Impact Northwest that has collected more than 800 coats.
- 5% of annual company profit donated to local charities
- Loving Room Fund — agent-driven charitable giving
- Corporate donor-advised fund held at the Oregon Community Foundation
- Current nonprofit partners: African American Alliance for Homeownership, Hoffman Center for the Arts, Rose Haven, Taking Ownership PDX
- Annual fall coat drive for Impact Northwest (800+ coats donated)
- Past nonprofit partners have included P:ear, Oregon Wild, Urban Gleaners, and North Tillamook Library
- 2022 Portland Business Journal Corporate Philanthropy Award
Awards & Recognition
Living Room Realty and its founder have been recognized repeatedly for workplace culture, ethics, and civic contribution. Founder Jenelle Etzel has been named to the Portland Business Journal's 40 Under 40 and has received an Orchid Award for business and civic contributions; she has also served on the board of Rock n Roll Camp for Girls and the Entrepreneurs' Organization's Portland chapter, and has spoken publicly on B Corp legislation alongside then-Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown.
- Top Workplaces (The Oregonian) 2014, 2015, 2016
- 100 Best Companies to Work For in Oregon, 2017
- 100 Best Green Companies, 2017
- Oregon Business in Ethics Award, 2014
- Willamette Week Best of Portland, 2015
- Portland Business Journal Corporate Philanthropy Award, 2022
- Orchid Award (Jenelle Etzel)
- Portland Business Journal 40 Under 40 (Jenelle Etzel)
- Featured in Portland Monthly, Oregon Business, REALTOR® Magazine, and OPB's Think Out Loud
Office Locations
Living Room Realty operates five neighborhood-rooted offices, each tied to a specific Portland district (or, in two cases, a separate metro area). The original 2009 Alberta Arts office has been joined over time by offices in Clinton/SE, the Pearl District/NW, and Multnomah Village/SW, plus a coastal office in Manzanita and a SW Washington office in Vancouver.
- SE Portland (Clinton) — 421 SE 10th Ave, Portland, OR 97214
- NW Portland (Pearl District) — 2050 NW Lovejoy St, Portland, OR 97209
- SW Portland (Multnomah Village) — 7830 SW 35th Ave, Portland, OR 97219
- Vancouver, WA — 107 W 7th St, Vancouver, WA 98660
- Manzanita, OR (coast) — 507 Laneda Ave, Suite 4, Manzanita, OR 97130
Leadership & Staff
The firm is led by founder Jenelle Isaacson Etzel (President & Owner, Licensed Broker in Oregon). Julia Robertson serves as Designated Managing Principal Broker. The brokerage supports a mix of independent agents plus internal staff in finance, marketing, operations, and administration, and explicitly recruits agents for shared values before sales numbers.
- Founder/Owner: Jenelle Isaacson Etzel
- Designated Managing Principal Broker: Julia Robertson
- Independent contractor agent model; agents selected first for personal 'WHY' and value alignment
- On-site support staff in finance, marketing, operations, and administration
- Open support-staff positions posted on the 'Jobs' page of livingroomre.com
Notable Listings & Community Stories
Living Room agents have marketed several of Portland's most architecturally distinctive properties and tell long-form client stories on the firm's 'Stories' blog. The most prominent example is Living Room agent David Columbus's $1.5M listing of the 1902 Mizpah Presbyterian Church (later a four-unit conversion) in the Ladd's Addition neighborhood — a Carpenter Gothic / Basilican bell-tower property on the National Register of Historic Places that sold in late 2024. The Stories blog also shares first-time-buyer journeys and market commentary.
- 1902 Mizpah Presbyterian Church conversion, Ladd's Addition — listed at $1.5M, sold Dec 23, 2024 for $1.4M by agent David Columbus
- Stories blog series featuring client journeys (e.g., 'Faith and Patience Pays Off' — a VA-loan first-time buyer story)
- 'Celebrating a Decade of Living Room Realty' retrospective covering growth from 2009 to 2019
- Office culture coverage in The Oregonian/OregonLive, Oregon Business, and Oregon Community Foundation storytelling
Contact & How to Get Started
Prospective clients, relocating buyers, investors, and agents interested in joining Living Room can reach the brokerage by phone, email, or by visiting any of the five neighborhood offices. Buyers new to Portland can request a custom city tour; sellers and commercial clients are matched with a Living Room agent through the firm's main contact channels.
- Phone: (503) 719-5588
- General email: [email protected]
- Rentals email: [email protected]
- Agent recruiting: Julia Robertson, 541-505-505-1111 (or contact form on the 'Jobs' page)
- Website: https://www.livingroomre.com/
- Walk-ins welcome at any of the five offices