The Swanepoel Power 200 ranks the most powerful leaders in the residential real estate brokerage industry as 2024 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.
The SP 200 reflects the relative power of 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 2022 data, as those are the only available across the board for all companies. Most companies have not completed their 2023 financials. When they do this spring, T3 Sixty will publish its annual ranking of the industry’s largest brokerages, brands and enterprises.
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Brian Buffini leads business-building firm Buffini & Company, which he founded in 1996 to coach and train real estate professionals in securing more leads and sales. His brother, Dermot, has been company CEO since 2013. In September 2023, the firm announced an exclusive pilot partnership with Re/Max in 19 Spanish-speaking countries. The firm reports it has worked with more than 3 million professionals in 45 countries.
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As founder and CEO of his eponymous real estate coaching company, Ferry plays an influential role in the industry, including in helping professionals navigate the challenges they face as they identify and implement tactical solutions for growth. He launched the firm in 2004 and now shares his insights at training events, through his two bestselling books, and a popular YouTube channel. In 2023, Ferry launched a speakers bureau featuring a roster of real estate industry experts available for speaking engagements.
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Conway leads Louisiana-based Latter & Blum, which has over 3,100 agents who do more than $5 billion in annual sales. She became the company’s principal broker in 2005 and took over its leadership in 2020 from her father, who purchased the brokerage in 1986. The New Orleans-based firm has 32 sales offices across Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi. Conway is also chair of independent brokerages group The Realty Alliance and on the board of managers for the Broker Public Portal.
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Tushaus manages Re/Max Results, which has over 1,200 agents in Minnesota and western Wisconsin who do over $7 billion in annual sales. Prior to becoming CEO, Tushaus held a variety of positions over 16 years with the company, most recently as chief operating officer. In 2023, she expanded the company’s reach through a new joint-venture with mortgage company Kind Lending.
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As CEO of BHHS Fox & Roach Realtors, Flick V leads over 5,000 agents in more than 80 offices in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In management of the company since 2007, he became CEO in 2018. In 2023, Flick V oversaw the acquisition of BHHS New Jersey Properties, which added 19 offices and over 600 agents to his firm. In addition to leading the brokerage, he heads the firm’s mortgage division, The Trident Group, as CEO.
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DiMichele manages the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, North America’s largest local Realtor board with over 67,000 members. In addition to leading the over-100-year-old association, DiMichele also serves on the board of directors for Council of Multiple Listing Services.
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As Co-Chair of EXIT Realty Corp. International, Bonnell leads a real estate brand with nearly 23,000 agents who do over $25.1 billion in annual sales. She joined the firm in 1999 and was president and CEO before transitioning to her current role in 2021. In 2023, she spearheaded EXIT’s expansion into Arkansas and Oklahoma. Bonnell is also an active member of the National Women’s Council of Realtors.
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Since co-founding Crye-Leike in Memphis over four decades ago with Dick Leike, Crye has built his firm into a Mid-South powerhouse. Its company-owned brokerage division has nearly 2,900 agents who do over $7 billion in annual sales. Crye currently serves on LeadingRE’s board as secretary and is a past chair of The Realty Alliance.
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Wright runs Majestic Realty Collective, a brokerage company that includes several Sotheby’s International Realty brokerages, as president. LIV Sotheby’s International Realty is the collective’s largest firm – in total, the firm has 57 offices in five western states. Combined, the companies rank as the nation’s 15th largest brokerage with approximately 1,200 agents who do nearly $14- billion in annual sales. He also serves as principal broker of Summit Sotheby’s International Realty.
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General Counsel and Chief Member Experience Officer,
National Association of Realtors
With CEO Bob Goldberg stepping down in 2023 and president Tracy Kasper resigning in early 2024, Johnson is the association’s most powerful leader. She has navigated a difficult year for NAR, headlined by large competition and compensation lawsuits in which NAR is a defendant, as well as high-profile sexual harassment and misconduct allegations against the association. She will play a key role in NAR’s effort to right the ship in 2024.
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In his role as president of Coldwell Banker Affiliates, Waugh is responsible for managing day-to-day operations, accelerating growth and enhancing services to over 100,000 agents affiliated with the Coldwell Banker brand. Before achieving his current role in October 2023, Waugh served as president of BHHS Northwest Real Estate and BHHS Real Estate Professionals. He works alongside Kamini Lane, who was tapped to lead the Anywhere company owned broker franchise in April 2023.
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As president and CEO of Edina Realty, Mason oversees 75 offices and over 2,300 agents in Minnesota and Wisconsin. He also leads the company’s family of businesses, which include title, mortgage, home warranty, insurance and relocation. Mason started at Edina Realty in 1986 as a title examiner and became CEO in 2014.
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Adams serves as president and CEO of the HomeServices of America-owned brokerage Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties, which has 2,600 agents in 63 offices in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island. With over two decades at HomeServices of America, Adams has helped grow the BHHS brand’s entree into New York City and also serves on the residential brokerage board of the Real Estate Board of New York and as a director of SmartMLS.
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Haase oversees strategy and operations for United Real Estate’s brokerage and franchise business, which has nearly 14,300 agents who do over $20.8 billion in annual sales. In 2023, the firm launched healthcare and wealth building programs for agents. Previously, Haase led Louisiana-based brokerage Latter & Blum from 2010 to 2018.
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As chief advocacy officer at the National Association of Realtors since 2020, McGahn focuses on improving access to homeownership, ensuring fair housing for all, and promoting NAR research to inform policymaking. Before joining NAR in 2018 as its first woman executive of government affairs, she had a nearly two-decade Capitol Hill career serving as counselor to the U.S. Treasury Secretary and staff director for the House Financial Services Committee.
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Anton oversees the growth of the Corcoran Group real estate brand, whose affiliates do over $33 billion in annual sales. In 2023, the firm entered Canada and Europe with new franchises in Ontario and Italy. It also expanded its presence in Texas and New Jersey. Anton was previously managing director of global services for five of six Anywhere Real Estate brands.
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George and Smith lead the investments in residential real estate software for Constellation Software, which includes Constellation1, SmartZip, Offrs.com, Market Leader, Zurple and Sharper Agent. In 2023, they expanded the portfolio with the acquisition of Black Knight’s Optimal Blue and Empower loan origination system, which it rebranded as Dark Matter. George is a 19-year veteran of Perseus while Smith joined from subsidiary Market Leader, where he spent nearly 12 years.
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Huskey runs Naples, Florida-based Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, a leading affiliate in the SIR global network with offices reaching from Florida’s Gulf Coast to North Carolina’s High Country. He joined Premier SIR after retiring as CEO of Coldwell Banker Real Estate in 2016. He is also vice chairman at Premier SIR parent company Peerage Realty.
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As president and CEO, Cheatham leads an influential network of large brokerages, which represent over 100,000 agents in 2,700 offices across North America. He has also been CEO of the Broker Resource Network, which he co-founded, since 2020.
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Davidson leads Cairn Real Estate Holdings with a portfolio that includes the large brokerage and franchise operator JP and Associates Realtors (JPAR), which operates a fee-based brokerage model and has over 4,000 agents in more than 60 offices in 28 states. In 2023, JPAR expanded into California and launched an agent health benefit program. Davidson formerly led Century 21 Real Estate as CEO from 2010 to 2017.
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