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.
181
DeCatsye has led 20,000-member Canopy MLS (formerly CarolinaMLS) for nearly two decades. She also manages its parent organization, Canopy Realtor Association. Both entities were unified under the Canopy brand in 2019 when its new headquarters opened. Canopy MLS provides services to brokers and agents in 24 counties in North Carolina and South Carolina. Decatsye is also a member of The MLS Roundtable and has been a leader in modernizing MLS data.
182
As president of residential sales for Memphis-based Crye-Leike Realtors, since 1979, Brown has overseen company and franchise operations covering nearly 3,000 agents in over 130 locations doing over $7 billion in annual sales. He has worked for the company for four decades, initially serving as branch office manager.
183
Mesa oversees Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty’s approximate 1,600 agents who do over $3 billion in annual sales. HomeServices of America acquired the brokerage in 2019 and Mesa continues to lead the strategic planning and growth initiatives for the firm and also serves as various NAR boards and committees including its executive committee and the Large Residential Firms Real Estate Advisory Group.
184
Scarafile leads Carolina One Real Estate, a leader in its core market of Charleston, South Carolina, where it reports it participates in one out of every three homes sold. The company has over 1,000 agents who do nearly $3 billion in annual sales. Scarafile also serves on The Realty Alliance board of directors.
185
Crane co-founded Intero Real Estate in 2002 and has led the company as CEO since 2019. The Silicon Valley-based firm, which HomeServices of America purchased in 2014, remains one of the biggest producers within the HSA brokerage stable.
186
Forsythe took the helm of Compass’s California region in October 2022. Before then, she served as chief brand officer for public brokerage company Fathom Realty. Previously, she served as an executive at HomeSmart.
187
Pope leads the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB), a national nonprofit dedicated to improving and serving the communities of Black real estate consumers and professionals. Pope leads to Cleveland-based brokerages E&D Realty and New Era Real Estate.
188
In 2022, Dain became CEO of NorthstarMLS, which has nearly 22,000 members in Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Before this role, Dain served as president and general manager for MLS software provider Remine and as CEO of Missouri-based MARIS MLS, which has over 15,000 members.
189
Lusink leads Canada-based agent flat-fee brokerage, Right at Home Realty, which first opened its doors in 2004. With over 6,000 agents, and over 27,000 transactions in 2021, the company is the largest brokerage in the Greater Toronto area and is reportedly the largest nonfranchise brokerage in Canada.
190
Masiello leads the 600-agent New England-based brokerage Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate The Masiello Group, the nation’s third largest BHGRE franchisee. The firm’s nearly 700 agents do over $2 billion in annual sales. With over three decades of industry experience, he has been involved in over 70 mergers and has led the firm since 1980.
191
A second-generation brokerage owner, Chinowth runs Chinowth & Cohen Realtors, an Oklahoma-based brokerage, which has over 700 agents who do over $2 billion in annual sales. She co-founded the company in 2004 and has grown it into one of the largest brokerages in Tulsa and Oklahoma City, and serves on the board of The Realty Alliance.
192
In late 2022, Wheeler became CEO of Opendoor, the nation’s largest iBuying company, when co-founder and then-CEO Eric Wu stepped into a supporting role within the company. An experienced executive, she joined the firm’s board in 2019 and became its chief financial officer in 2020.
193
At the helm since 2015, Fouts leads West USA Realty, which has over 3,000 agents who do nearly $7 billion in annual sales. Clint’s father Clay founded the company, which features a model in which agents pay a flat fee instead of splitting commissions, in 1986.
194
Specchio leads Indiana-based MIBOR Realtor Association, which has over 8,000 members. A long-time Realtor association executive, she became CEO in 2017 from her role as CEO of the Northern Nevada Regional MLS. Specchio also serves on the board of directors of CMLS.
195
Appointed president in 2021, Lim oversees the national expansion of Christie’s International Real Estate and @properties. In 2021, @properties did over $18 billion in sales with over 3,500 agents. Lim was the founder and president of Climb Real Estate, which a fast-growing boutique brokerage firm in San Francisco that Anywhere Real Estate acquired in 2016.
196
Garland manages Second Century Ventures, NAR’s investment arm that has become a notable player in real estate tech investment. It operates the Reach real estate technology scale-up program, which has over 140 firms in its portfolio. In 2022, SCV launched the NAR Reach Labs program, which helps Realtor associations engage with startups and source innovations.
197
Nishimura serves as the 2023 president of the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA), which serves over 17,000 North American members with a mission to increase Asian American and Pacific Islander homeownership and professional development of members of that group. He works as a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Realty in Arizona.
198
Glazer runs Back At You, a real estate tech firm that provides products related to financial reporting, customer relationship management and social media marketing for brokerages and agents. The firm reports serving over 300 Brokerages and 150,000 agents.
199
Benson leads Engel & Völkers Gestalt Group, which has 38 offices located in California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Oregon and Idaho. The company’s over 700 agents do more than $4 billion in annual sales. In addition to leading the company, he continues to represent buyers and sellers as an active agent.
200
Chen serves as CEO of Chime Technologies, provider of a popular real estate CRM, which also provides IDX websites and various marketing tools, including AI-powered ones, to brokers, teams and agents. In 2022, the firm launched a tool geared to help brokers recruit agents.
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