Methodology

Power is an elusive concept. It is the ability to control people and companies, but it also exists even when not exercised. Power is not a popularity contest. It is not based only on a single criterion such as head count, office count or revenue. And, as with everything T3 Sixty does, the evaluation of it, is never pay to play.

The concept is not easy or straightforward, so creating this ranking each year leads to healthy debate. The T3 Sixty team analyzes hundreds of bios, annual reports and transactional and sales volume data. It sends hundreds of requests for additional information, personally verifying announcements, stats and actions that took place over the past year. Yet it remains as much an art as it is a science.

Some people have entrepreneurial power, some have financial strength, some hold high office, some have personal power, some have positional power, while others have political clout. Some are innovators, some executives, some doers, some dealmakers. T3 Sixty considers all these facets of power, as they relate to each leader individually and to their peers, and comes up with what we feel is the industry’s most accurate annual reflection of individual power.

First Round: Initial Cut

T3 Sixty evaluates prominent leaders and C-suite executives of large organizations that support and serve the residential real estate brokerage industry. This initial pool is made up of hundreds of nominations, T3 Sixty's own database of more than 3,000 industry leaders and a review of notable figures covered by the media.

Some high-level company stats for leaders in the initial round:

• Brokerage companies with generally more than $3 billion in annual sales volume and, in some cases, more than 10,000 annual transactions and 500 agents

• Technology companies with more than 1,000 broker or team clients, 50,000 agent users, $30 million in revenue, 100 employees, $20 million in funding, or two or more significant enterprise client relationships

• MLS organizations with over 40,000 subscribers, local Realtor associations with over 20,000 members and state Realtor associations with more than 50,000 members

Second round: Deep dive

During this round, T3 Sixty reviews the influence of each leader and executive and, when available, weighs the following information:

• Their current role and decision-making power

• The size of the organization (sales volume, offices, agent count, subscribers, etc.), which indicates the power and influence at the leader's direction

• Their tenure with the company and in the residential real estate brokerage industry, along with their personal reputation and influence

• The financial resources of the organization (market capitalization, revenue, profitability, funding received, etc.)

• National significance, scope and impact of the organization. (Regional companies usually mean regional influence and, although that does not invalidate consideration, it is limiting)

• Recent and significant initiatives, expansions, acquisitions or other noteworthy activities the individual led or contributed to in an important way

• Other leadership activities, such as serving on other companies' boards of directors

Third round: Triple check

During the third round, the T3 Sixty team reviews the draft ranking and verifies org charts, reporting lines, initiatives and company numbers. This phase also includes a closer examination of relative rankings of leaders within the same organization and across the industry.

Leaders are evaluated without regard to age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law.

T3 Sixty follows principles reflected in the fairness doctrine of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and adheres to widely accepted standards of objectivity and intellectual rigor. This helps the company evaluate all leaders and executives in an honest, equitable and balanced manner.

T3 Sixty does not in any way attempt to benefit or disadvantage one person or company above another.

T3 Sixty serves many executives and organizations listed in this ranking as a management consulting firm and may also, from time to time, be an investor in some of the companies mentioned in this report. However, no confidential information or information covered by a nondisclosure agreement is used.

Clients of T3 Sixty do not get extra consideration on this list; in fact, T3 Sixty includes some leaders of companies perceived as competitors.

No T3 Sixty employee or independent contractor working for T3 Sixty is eligible for inclusion in the T3 Sixty rankings.

Most of the companies mentioned own numerous trademarks and other marks. T3 Sixty does not challenge or in any way seek to dilute any of these marks.

While the publisher, authors, contributors and editors have used their best efforts to present accurate and balanced descriptions and biographies of leaders, executives and their companies, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of any such information.

References to any person or company do not constitute or imply endorsement and neither is any reference or absence of reference intended to harm, advantage or disadvantage a company or individual. The publishers, editorial team and T3 Sixty shall not be liable for any loss or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential or other damages.

All industry leaders and executives are considered for the overall SP 200 list. T3 Sixty also presents sublists highlighting the industry's most powerful executives by category: organized real estate, brokerage, technology, women, etc. The company also provides a Watchlist featuring individuals doing compelling things in the industry who may soon earn a spot on the SP 200.

T3 Sixty ranks companies (brokerages, franchisors and holding companies) by all three key metrics (sales volume, transaction sides and agent count) although T3 considers sales volume more important as it is the core metric used to calculate agent commission, franchise fees and company revenue. Sales volume is the industry’s best proxy metric for brokerage overall performance. The Real Estate Almanac data can, however, also be viewed from transaction sides and agent count and each provides an interesting vantage point.

T3 Sixty ranks for-profit companies (brokerages, franchisors and holding companies) by all three key metrics (sales volume, transaction sides and agent count) although T3 considers sales volume more important as it is the core metric used to calculate agent commission, franchise fees and company revenue. Sales volume is the industry’s best proxy metric for brokerage overall performance. The Real Estate Almanac data can, however, also be viewed from transaction sides and agent count and each provides an interesting vantage point.

In most tables (for example, the top 1,000 brokerages), sales volume is listed in millions of dollars. Due to the large numbers reflected in the top franchisors and top holding companies lists, T3 lists those sales volumes in billions of dollars.

Note that sales volume and transaction sides is calculated by adding the value or number of the homes that a company represented on either the buy or sell side. Therefore, should a company represent both sides of the same transaction, the transaction is counted as two sides. To derive the total size of the market, requires removing this duplication. For reference, the total value of existing home sales in 2019 was approximately $1.65 trillion (5.34 million homes sold (10.64 transaction sides) at a median price of approximately $309,000).

A transaction side is counted as either the list or sell side of a transaction. The rule listed above applies. If a brokerage sells its own listing, two transaction sides are counted; when it co-brokers a transaction, one transaction side is counted. Outgoing referrals are counted by the receiving brokerage and not the sending brokerage.

Agent count is a less important measure, but it does still prove insightful. It is also a more verifiable stat than many other numbers and, therefore, provides a valuable benchmark. A large agent count does not guarantee success, but it usually is an indicator of a growing company.

The Mega 1000 does not list office count because in today’s modern technology-driven world, bricks-and-mortar offices are no longer critical to company success. A growing number of companies are consolidating offices and many new models such as Redfin, eXp Realty and United Real Estate serve dozens of markets with no, or only a handful, of actual offices.