The Swanepoel Power 200 ranks the most powerful leaders in the residential real estate brokerage industry as 2025 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 2024 data, as those are the only available across the board for all companies. Most companies have not completed their 2024 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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In 2024, Myers joined the Canadian Real Estate Association as its CEO. In her first year, she began exploring transitioning CREA’s online portal (realtor.ca) into a for-profit subsidiary (a move the CREA membership supported in an October vote). Prior to taking the leadership role at CREA, Myers led the Ottawa Real Estate Board for a decade and was executive director for a British Columbia real estate board for 12 years prior to that.
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Milam runs Wilmington, North Carolina-based Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage, which has approximately 1,800 agents who do more than $6 billion in annual sales. The firm is among the top 30 brokerages in the nation. Wilmington Sea Coast Properties, founded in 1988, affiliated with Coldwell Banker in 1993.
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Cantrell is executive vice president of strategy for United Real Estate, which is the nation’s 14th largest brokerage with more than 15,000 agents doing nearly $17 billion in annual sales. In 2024, Cantrell spearheaded the launch of United’s Financial Wellness Program. He also continues to lead the Franklin, Tennessee-based Benchmark Realty he founded in 2006 which has offices throughout middle Tennessee, southern Kentucky and northern Alabama.
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Jacuzzi started his Select Group of Real Estate Services Companies in 1980 in California. Since then, the group has grown to include five brokerages in California and Nevada. The Select Group today has nearly 1,400 agents who do more than $3 billion in annual sales, which puts it in the top 75 among national brokerages. Jacuzzi began his career in the industry as an agent for Century 21.
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Carey runs Real Estate Webmasters, which provides websites, lead generation and customer relationship management tools to over 35,000 North American real estate professionals. In 2024, the Vancouver, Canada-based company added budget allocation and transaction reporting features to its platform, launched a new CRM with data visualization and automation features, and a new website feature allowing agents and brokers to display their compensation for their own listings. Carey founded the company in 2004.
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DeCatsye has led the approximately 22,500-member Canopy MLS, which serves Realtors in North and South Carolina, since 2001. She also manages the Canopy Realtor Association, the trade organization which owns the MLS, as well as a housing foundation and real estate institute. Having earned her J.D. in 1988, DeCatsye began working with Canopy as its in-house counsel in 2000. She is also a member of the Broker Public Portal’s board of managers.
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Hawkins in August took over as CEO of the second largest state association in the California Association of Realtors, which has more than 200,000 members. He previously served as CEO for the Pacific West Association of Realtors (PWR), one of the state’s largest local associations. He joined PWR in 1998 as vice president of government affairs.
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Benson leads Engel & Völkers Gestalt Group, which has offices located in Utah, California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Washington and Idaho. The firm has more than 1,100 agents that do over $3 billion in annual sales. In 2023, Benson purchased an ownership stake in Dilbeck Real Estate, which expanded Engel & Völkers’ presence in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Benson started out as a luxury broker for Prudential in 2004.
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Bjelke serves as CEO of UtahRealEstate.com, Utah’s largest MLS, which serves approximately 20,000 members. He is entering his tenth year at the helm of the MLS, one of the top 25 largest in the country. Bjelke is also a founder of MLS collaboration group MLS Aligned and a past chair of the Council of Multiple Listing Services who serves on many NAR MLS committees.
170
Gillenwater has overseen Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty, which does over $4 billion in annual sales, since 2012. Active in real estate for 35 years, he first joined the firm in 1994. Lyon, board chair since 2008 when the firm joined Sotheby’s International Realty, is the third generation to lead the firm. Established in 1947, the company is now one of the nation’s top 50 brokerages with more than 900 agents across Arizona.
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Elfman replaced long-time CEO York Bauer at the helm of popular real estate brokerage platform MoxiWorks in June 2024. MoxiWorks, which integrates productivity and data tech offerings with customer relationship management, website builder, recruiting tools and more, is owned by private equity firm Vector Capital and has several large brokerage company investors. The firm reportedly serves more than 800 brokerage and over 500 MLS clients. Elfman remains vice chair of Onit, the enterprise legal solutions firm he co-founded and grew to $100 million in revenue.
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Human resources veteran Reu-Narvaez has been Chief People Officer at Anywhere since 2021. In this role, she leads people strategy for nearly 10,000 employees globally across multiple business units and six real estate brands. Prior to joining the C-suite, she oversaw human resources for the company’s brokerage and franchise groups, supporting Better Homes and Gardens, Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Corcoran, ERA and Sotheby’s International Realty. She is a current member of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals Corporate Board of Governors and a former national board member of the Asian Real Estate Professional Association.
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Zorn has been at the California Regional MLS, one of the nation’s largest MLSs with more than 107,000 subscribers, since 2015. Responsible for all legal aspects from contracting to litigation management, he is also involved in the MLS’s daily operational and strategic direction. He is a member of the California Association of Realtors’ legal affairs forum, serves on the Professional Standards Committee in Tennessee, and is a past member of NAR committees for MLS listing issues and policy and for professional standards. Zorn shares his insights as both a lawyer and Realtor as a frequent industry event speaker and podcast guest.
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Conway orchestrated the sale of Louisiana-based Latter & Blum, which has over 3,000 agents who do nearly $4 billion in annual sales, to Compass in April 2024. The move gave the nation’s No. 1 largest brokerage a greater presence in the Gulf South as Latter & Blum has sales offices across Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi. Conway, who became the company’s principal broker in 2005 and took over its leadership in 2020 from her father, retained day-to-day oversight of the New Orleans-based firm. Conway is also on the board of managers for the Broker Public Portal.
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James oversees the real estate coaching enterprise he launched in 2008. He also runs companies offering a transaction coordination closing tool (Cleared and Closed) and a digital communication tool (FyrstUp) as well as other startups. Known as a thought leader and industry influencer, James hosts a business podcast and has authored several motivational books. The Jared James Experience in Nashville, Tennessee, annually draws more than 1,000 attendees.
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Scarafile leads the Charleston, South Carolina-based Carolina One Real Estate, which has more than 1,000 agents who do nearly $4 billion in annual sales. Scarafile joined the state’s largest real estate company in 2005, took over as president in 2011 and as CEO in 2020. He is the current chair of The Realty Alliance board of directors and serves on the board of the Charleston Regional Development Alliance.
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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. Glazer co-founded the Encino, California-based company in 2011. The firm reports serving over 300 Brokerages and 150,000 agents with its SocialBAY, ClientBAY and FinancialBAY systems.
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Minard is entering his 25th year at the helm of Delta Media Group, a real estate technology platform that offers digital marketing tools and services, including the DeltaNet platform. In 2023, the firm released an updated version of its platform with increased automation and AI capabilities. In 2024, it sought to educate the industry by releasing a white paper examining the ubiquity of AI in real estate.
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Evans leads the Council of Multiple Listing Services, the largest professional organization dedicated to the MLS industry. Bringing together a reported 235 MLS member organizations, the association helps guide the industry by providing a voice to MLSs. Evans regularly takes a public stance on issues, most recently speaking out in favor of Clear Cooperation and its role in housing market integrity in an open letter to NAR in late 2024.
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Howe heads up Metrolist MLS in California, which serves seven Realtor associations and more than 21,500 members throughout the state. Founded in 1985, MetroList is a top 20 MLS in the nation and the largest in northern California. Howe began his MLS career in 1996 as a regional MLS coordinator and became the organization’s president in 2022. He took on the added role of CEO in 2023.
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