For Gia Silva, real estate was never just a career path — it was something that unfolded naturally, rooted in place, memory and community.
“I was born in Lima, Peru, and my family migrated straight to Long Beach,” Silva said. “So when we migrated, that’s all we knew. All we knew was Long Beach.”
That sense of belonging has guided her through more than two decades in real estate. Silva first earned her license at 18 years old and later became a broker, building her business in the same city where she went to school, rented homes with her family and learned what it meant to feel grounded.
“Starting in Long Beach was just a given,” she said. “I love Long Beach.”
Silva’s approach to real estate is deeply informed by market intelligence and an insistence on understanding clients as individuals, not transactions. When asked how she evaluates the housing market, she’s quick to dismiss oversimplified answers.
“The worst answer you can give is ‘it’s great, you should buy. It’s great, you should sell,’” Silva said.
Instead, she emphasizes supply and demand, explaining that months of inventory tell a far clearer story than headlines or national trends. “What happens in your backyard is going to affect you much more,” she said.
Looking ahead, Silva sees the Long Beach market continuing along a steady, healthy path.
“We’re going to see appreciation continue, just slower than earlier years,” she said. “To me, that’s a very healthy market.”
But numbers are only part of the picture. For Silva, homes are emotional spaces — places where lives unfold.
“Everything happens at home,” she said. “The magic, the fights, the births, the graduations, the birthdays.”
That belief shapes how she markets properties, particularly in Long Beach’s tightly defined neighborhoods. In one recent Los Altos listing, Silva took over a home that had sat on the market for months.
“If you don’t understand the parameters and those borders of Long Beach, you’re not going to understand how to market it,” she said. “You’re not going to understand how to present it.”
By reframing the home’s story — emphasizing schools, walkability and community — and investing in partial staging, Silva helped generate eight offers in just days.
“The goal was just to get more eyes on the property and more people walking through the door,” she said.
Community, she believes, is becoming increasingly important to buyers.
“People want to be in a neighborhood that feels like a community,” Silva said.
She sees this reflected in the growing interest in accessory dwelling units — not as rentals, but as multigenerational solutions.
“That will help bring grandma over,” she said. “That will help the mother-in-law. That will help the child that’s going to college.”
At home, Silva practices what she believes.
She lives in a Long Beach home that she describes as “warm,” “cozy,” and “peaceful,” filled with plants and mid-century touches. “Home should be a place that you want to come to,” she said.
Her connection to Long Beach extends into her daily routines. A dedicated runner, Silva moves through the city at sunrise, logging miles at Marine Stadium and Colorado Lagoon.
“Running has been the thing that I always do around the city,” she said.
That rhythm inspired her YouTube channel “Gia Silva - Living in Long Beach" and her “Get Localized” video series, where she runs through neighborhoods highlighting local spots, pricing trends and community feel. “It’s a big city, but it feels like a small town,” Silva said.
Looking ahead, her goal remains simple. “Help more families in Long Beach,” she said. “Buying a home is one of the biggest milestones you’ll ever have.”
And the key, she insists, always comes back to curiosity.
“Asking you the right questions is what’s going to bring the best advice and the best custom strategies I can offer,” Silva said. “It’s like a big puzzle — and I put all the pieces together.”
“Everything happens at home. The magic, the fights, the births, the graduations, the birthdays.”
—Gia Silva, President, INTI Realty