The Swanepoel Power 200 ranks the most powerful leaders in the residential real estate brokerage industry as 2023 kicks off. Criteria used to rank leaders include the scope and power of leaders’ positions, the financial resources they have at their disposal, whether they have equity stake in their company, their trajectory and much more. For a detailed description of the careful methodology T3 Sixty used to determine the rankings, please see the methodology here.
These rankings (SP 200) reflect the leaders in the industry and is not a company ranking. Size and sales volume listed in bios provide framing and, while used to determine ranking, were just part of the data considered. Note that the numbers used in many of the bios reflect full-year 2021 data, as those are the only available across the board for all companies. Most companies have not completed their 2022 financials and our official company and brokerage rankings (Mega 1000) will be published in May 2023 after financial and audits have been completed.
1
Blefari runs HSA, which owns the nation’s third largest brokerage and its fifth largest franchise brand in Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. Combined, the company ranks as the nation’s fourth largest holding company with 2021 production of $291.8 billion in 2021 sales volume, 622,732 transaction sides and over 76,500 agents. Since taking the helm at HSA in 2019, Blefari has maintained the firm’s standout profitable performance.
2
As founder and executive chairman of kwx, Keller oversees Keller Williams Realty, the nation’s largest franchise brand by sales volume, transaction sides and agent count ($500.1 billion, 1.3 million and 168,925 agents, respectively). Keller, who co-founded Keller Williams Realty in 1983, has guided the company successfully during a turbulent market.
3
EXp World Holdings, the company Sanford founded and helms, surged as a major force in the last three years. Subsidiary eXp Realty, which Sanford founded in 2009, is now the nation’s fourth largest brokerage (2021 production of $156.1 billion in sales volume and 444,367 transaction sides), and continues to grow more rapidly, while achieving profitability, than all of its major competitors.
4
Schneider has engineered a turnaround at Anywhere Real Estate (which rebranded from Realogy in 2022) over the past few years. The payoff has begun revealing itself as the company now affirms a profitable business on significant revenue. Anywhere owns the nation’s second largest brokerage in Anywhere Advisors and more franchise brands that anyone other company with: Coldwell Banker Real Estate, Sotheby’s International Realty, Century 21, Corcoran Group, ERA Real Estate and Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate.
5
Barton slides a few slots to five this year with the announcement that Zillow Group quit its iBuying program, Zillow Offers, after losing a reported $420 million in the three months ending September 2021. Zillow is laying off a quarter of its 8,000 staff. Yet the company remains relatively healthy with its Premier Agent cash cow as it pursues other alternative financing avenues to streamline the transaction. Anyone counting Barton out, will most likely be proven wrong, as Barton has proven that he an exceptional entrepreneur, and, as leader of Zillow Group, he remains extremely powerful in the industry.
6
Yannaccone makes a leap into the top 10 of the 2023 SP 200 as she added leadership of the Coldwell Banker Real Estate franchise brand and Anywhere’s brokerage wing, Anywhere Advisors, in late 2022. In her expanded role, Yannaccone oversees the operations of the nation’s largest real estate franchise group, whose combined U.S. 196,000 agents did over $737 billion in sales and 1.5 million transactions in 2021.
7
Company Leaders
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Hanna Holdings / Howard Hanna Real Estate
The nation’s largest family-owned and -managed brokerage company had a steady 2021 under the collective leadership of second-generation siblings Hoddy Hanna and Helen Hanna Casey and third-generation leader Hoby Hanna. Hanna Holdings does nearly $40 billion in in annual sales. In 2022, the company continued its acquisition activity, which has fueled growth in recent years.
8
Reffkin guided his company to the remarkable achievement by becoming the nation’s largest brokerage based on full year 2021 sales over $254 billion. To attempt to right the ship among a tough year that saw Compass post large losses, Reffkin stepped up and announced large cost-cutting measures, including massive tech layoffs, eliminating cash or equity incentives to recruit or retain agents, and raising splits in order to generate profit.
9
Florance, the founder and CEO of CoStar Group, rises into the top 10 based on his firm’s deepening dive into the residential sales side of real estate. In late 2022, the firm formally merged the agent productivity tool Homesnap with Homes.com and launched the latter as its residential real estate marketplace. As the long-time leader in the commercial real estate marketplace and data space, CoStar Group is aggressively pursuing a goal to become a major player in the residential sales space.
10
Soper runs Canada’s largest real estate brokerage enterprise, Bridgemarq Real Estate Services. The group owns and operates the brands Royal LePage, Via Capitale and Johnston & Daniel, collectively consisting of nearly 21,000 agents in over 700 company-owned and franchised offices. Bridgemarq, long one of Canada’s largest residential real estate companies, has produced steady and consistent results under the leadership of Soper, who assumed the CEO role 20 years ago in 2002.
11
Bailey became president and CEO of RE/MAX in 2022. As leader, Bailey heads a company with more than 61,000 agents and $340 billion in annual sales. In his first year at the helm, he revamped the firm’s technology offerings to brokerages and agents and has announced team-focused growth strategy for 2023. Bailey worked through the ranks in RE/MAX between 2001 and 2012 before working at Market Leader and Zillow as an executive and Century 21 as CEO.
12
Redfin’s CEO since 2005, Kelman has led Redfin into years of consistent growth. In 2021, the company expanded past 100 U.S. markets and reported that it grew U.S. sales volume market share to nearly 1.2 percent. In November 2022, the company announced that it was winding down its iBuying service, RedfinNow. Redfin’s 9,700 agents do over $52 billion in annual sales, making it the nation’s fifth largest brokerage.
13
Goldberg maintained a steady hand at the helm of NAR, which he has led since 2018. The association’s research and data continues to serve as key reference material for the housing market. But its regulatory challenges continued in 2022 with several high-profile commission-related lawsuits still underway as well as an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice its policies related to brokerage compensation structure.
14
Siblings OB Jacobi and Jill Jacobi Wood and Wood’s husband Geoff run this nearly five-decade-old, family-owned company. Based in Seattle, Windermere is the largest regional real estate company in the Western U.S. with more than 6,000 agents and 300 offices in 10 states. The company does over $51 billion in annual sales.
15
Jewgieniew founded and leads Realty One Group, the nation’s eighth largest real estate franchise brand. Founded in 2005, the company, which has an agent flat-fee brokerage model, has over 400 franchises. The over 17,000 agents affiliated with the brand do over $47 billion in annual sales. In the first three quarters of 2022, the company sold more than 66 franchises.
16
As chief operating officer, Wacksman leads Zillow Group’s business, product, operations, engineering, industry and brokerage licensing teams. He has emerged as the clear No. 2 behind Richard Barton for operation of the powerful company, which routinely attracts over 200 unique visitors each month to its sites.
17
Golden and Wong have expanded their large Chicago-based brokerage @properties into the At World holding company with the help of a controlling stake taken by private equity firm Quad-C in 2018. At World now includes a brokerage wing and national franchise brands @properties, Nest Realty and Ansley Real Estate. In 2021, the company acquired the Christie’s International Real Estate network and a long-term license of the brand name from Christie’s auction house.
18
Widdows runs HomeSmart, which operates an agent flat-fee brokerage model. He launched the company in 2000 and has built into the nation’s 13th largest real estate enterprise, based on a 2021 sales volume of $39 billion. The company operates 194 offices with approximately 23,000 agents in 47 states in its franchise and brokerage wings.
19
Budnick leads Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, the flagship franchise brand for HomeServices of America. In this role, she leads a brand with over 50,000 affiliated agents who do over $170 billion in annual sales. Budnick came to the position from her role as president and CEO of BHHS Florida Network Realty, which she assumed in 2018.
20
White Jr. oversees the day-to-day operation of the almost 1,000 company-owned and franchised offices within Anywhere’s highly regarded luxury brand Sotheby’s International Realty, which ranks as the nation’s fourth largest residential real estate brokerage brand by 2021 sales volume. White became chief operating officer in 2004, CEO of the affiliate network in 2013 and added the company-owned stores under his wing in 2019.
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