While still at university, the founder of Cedar Keys Estates, Mustapha Fouladkar, took on a 10,000 m² warehouse that nobody wanted to rent because it was simply too large for a single tenant. Instead of seeing the size as a problem, he divided the property into eleven separate commercial and industrial units and rented every one of them.
Mustapha Fouladkar’s Foundation in Property
Property was already familiar territory when Mustapha Fouladkar entered the professional world. Growing up around family investment decisions, he experienced real estate from both the client’s side and the trader’s side.
He studied industrial, residential and commercial properties, paying attention to what made each investment work and what could make it fail.
But another lesson became equally important: the legal side of real estate.
Fouladkar noticed that many brokers were not legally oriented, while his own experiences with tenants and transactions had forced him to learn that side of the business firsthand. It made him cautious, and that caution became part of the way he approaches every property.
His philosophy is straightforward. He walks through a property as though he were the person renting or buying it.
For him, a broker owes a client two things: proper legal grounding and the ability to see the property through the client’s eyes rather than through the broker’s own perspective.
Building Cedar Keys Estates From the Ground Up
The biggest achievement in Mustapha Fouladkar’s professional journey is Cedar Keys Estates itself.
He founded the firm officially in 2025, growing it from one corner of Beirut to the wider city and then across Lebanon. But the expansion is not what he considers the most important part of the story.
What matters most is trust.
With his first group of agents, Fouladkar went property by property with them himself, teaching them to understand a transaction from beginning to end. Legal considerations came first, followed by the equally important skill of sitting with an owner and communicating properly.
That approach became part of the firm’s foundation.
Today, Cedar Keys Estates also works with clients investing beyond Lebanon. These clients are often looking for judgement rather than simply a listing. They may need guidance on which country to consider, whether residential or commercial property makes sense, whether an off-plan purchase is worth waiting for, or which developers deserve their trust.
The firm’s international work is handled through vetted partner agencies, while its value lies in helping clients make informed decisions, including being honest when an opportunity is simply not right for them.
As an International REALTOR® Member of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), USA, Fouladkar also carries a professional code of ethics that reflects the principles he was already committed to.
Building a Business Through Uncertainty
Launching a new real estate firm in 2025 meant entering a market that was not waiting for another agency.
Lebanon was still dealing with the banking crisis, while conflict had affected the country before Cedar Keys Estates began and continued afterward.
Established agencies already had years of relationships behind them. Cedar Keys Estates had to build those relationships from the beginning while the market itself continued to shift.
Damaged areas lost buyers. Demand moved between districts. Property values became increasingly difficult to judge from one area to another.
The uncertainty was also personal. Fouladkar experienced the loss of properties of his own that had been rented for years.
He does not present these experiences for sympathy. Instead, they inform the way he advises clients. He understands what it feels like to believe in a property and then watch circumstances change around it.
That experience has made his approach more grounded, cautious and honest.
A Vision Built on Knowledge and Measurable Reality
The next chapter for Mustapha Fouladkar is centered on three priorities: knowledge, international connections and professional standards.
Cedar Keys Estates is building its own record of the Lebanese market, including registry transaction figures, demand and supply by area, and price movements over time. The goal is to ensure that advice is based on numbers rather than whatever the market happens to be saying at a particular moment.
The company also plans to open its platform to outside writers who want to publish serious financial and market analysis on Lebanese real estate, addressing what Fouladkar sees as a shortage of meaningful analysis.
At the same time, the firm is deepening its international partner network as more Lebanese living abroad, particularly in the Gulf, seek opportunities in Lebanon or outside the country.
Underlying all of this is a belief in Lebanon itself.
Despite everything the country has endured, Fouladkar continues to see potential in its land, its people and its resilience. His long-term ambition is simple: to build a firm that a Lebanese family anywhere in the world calls first when it needs real estate guidance, and to become worthy of that trust.
The Legacy Mustapha Fouladkar Wants to Leave
Fouladkar does not want to be remembered simply as the person who built the biggest firm.
He wants something harder to earn: becoming the name one family gives to another when someone asks who they can trust.
His vision for the industry is equally ambitious. A broker who understands the legal side, puts things in writing and tells an owner honestly when a price is wrong should not be considered exceptional. It should be the minimum standard.
He believes that standard travels through people. Every agent he trains carries it forward, and eventually those agents can train others.
For Mustapha Fouladkar, the future of real estate is therefore not only about properties. It is about knowledge, responsibility and trust.
And perhaps the most important lesson from his journey is the one he would give his younger self: learn the legal side before learning how to sell, recognise the knowledge you carry, and never be afraid to lose a deal by telling a client the truth.
Because in the long run, integrity may cost you a transaction.
But it can build a reputation that lasts.
Follow Mustapha Fouladkar on Instagram and LinkedIn and check website to stay updated on his real estate journey and latest work.
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