The 10th annual Swanepoel Power 200 (SP 200) analyzes and ranks 245 industry leaders.
LADERA RANCH, Calif., Jan. 10, 2023 — The Swanepoel Power 200 (SP 200), the definitive ranking of the residential real estate brokerage industry’s executives and leaders, has named Gino Blefari, president and CEO of HomeServices of America, as the nation’s most powerful and influential person for 2023.
The annual report published today, marking its 10th year as the industry’s most respected analysis of the scope, reach and leadership of the industry executives running the nation’s largest companies. Created and published by real estate consulting firm T3 Sixty, the ranking reflects eight distinct criteria used to evaluate the executives, including:
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Achievements over the past 12 – 18 months
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Size and reach of the companies they lead
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Overall influence within the industry
Reaching the top slot for the first time — after several years as one of the top five — Blefari’s ascent is marked by his steadfast leadership of HomeServices of America (HSA), part of the Berkshire Hathaway group of companies. At the helm of HSA since 2019, Blefari has kept the nation’s most profitable national real estate brokerage on a consistently profitable track.
The industry’s second most powerful and influential executive is Gary Keller, the founder and executive chairman of kwx. Keller Williams Realty is the nation’s largest franchise brand by sales volume, transaction sides and agent count and the nation’s largest privately-owned real estate company. Keller is the only leader to have been named one of the top five most powerful people in residential real estate brokerage for the past 10 years.
The industry’s third most powerful person in 2023 is Glenn Sanford, the founder and CEO of eXp World Holdings, the nation’s fourth largest brokerage and largest cloud-based real estate company. EXP is also the fastest-growing major real estate company in the nation.
Filling in the top ten executives and leaders are:
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No. 4 – Ryan Schneider, CEO and president, Anywhere Real Estate
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No. 5 – Richard Barton, co-founder and CEO, Zillow Group
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No. 6 – Sue Yannaccone, president and CEO, Anywhere Brands
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No. 7 – Hoddy, Helen and Hoby Hanna, company leaders, Hanna Holdings
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No. 8 – Robert Reffkin, co-founder and CEO, Compass
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No. 9 – Andy Florance, founder and CEO, CoStar Group
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No. 10 – Phil Soper, president and CEO, Bridgemarq Real Estate Services
“These exceptional leaders have a few things in common: a keen eye for hiring talent and a diligent focus on sustainable growth,” said Stefan Swanepoel, executive chairman of T3 Sixty.
Highlights and Notable Moves
The SP 200 rankings consider leaders and executives across the entire residential real estate industry. In the 2023 list, 121 positions represent brokerages; 35 are from organized real estate; 35 represent technology companies, and 9 hail from other sectors of the industry such as media, networks and educational entities. Of the positions represented by brokerage leaders, 64 of 121 are associated with one of the national brands, with HomeServices of America, Anywhere Real Estate and RE/MAX leading the pack.
The five executives in organized real estate with the highest rankings are:
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No. 13 – Bob Goldberg, the CEO of the National Association of Realtors (NAR)
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No. 28 – Art Carter, the CEO of the California Regional Multiple Listing Service
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No. 29 – Brian Donnellan, the CEO of Bright MLS
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No. 30 – Bob Hale, the president and CEO of the Houston Association of Realtors
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No. 35 – Katie Johnson, General Counsel and Chief Member Experience Officer for NAR
Rich Barton, CEO of Zillow, is the highest-ranking technology executive, while Sue Yannaccone, CEO of Anywhere Brands, is the highest ranked female executive and Phil Soper, president and CEO of Bridgemarq Real Estate, is the highest-ranking executive in Canada.
Other noteworthy moves include:
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Gavin Swartzman, CEO of Peerage Realty Partners, moves up from No. 121 to No. 38, reflecting the company’s massive growth, numerous acquisitions and significant sales volume growth.
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Chris Kelly, executive vice president of HomeServices of America and president and CEO of Ebby Halliday Companies, who rises to No. 44 from No. 119, due to his expanding role at HSA.
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Greg Rand, the executive vice president of Coldwell Banker’s central region, jumps to No. 72 from No. 130 as he continues to expand the brand’s operations in the Midwest and Texas.
“Talented leaders,” said Jack Miller, CEO of T3 Sixty, “are executives who can continue to right the ship even in untested waters, and the industry’s top-ranked leaders have in the last year proven that they have earned their place at the helm.”
Visit sp200.com for an overview of each leader.
Methodology
The rigorous and detailed process of determining the most powerful and influential leaders takes the T3 Sixty team more than three months, during which they assess more than 2,000 industry leaders against eight distinctive criteria:
1. Current office held and decision-making power
2. Tenure in the industry
3. Size of their organization
4. Financial resources of the organization
5. Significance and impact of their organization
6. Involvement in previous year’s top activities, acquisitions, etc.
7. Individual’s other industry activities or affiliations
8. Individual’s power and influence outside his or her organization
“In working to identify and recognize those leaders and executives who have the most power and influence across the industry, we invest over 500 hours reviewing bios, annual activities of both the leaders and the companies they lead, key performance statistics, shareholder numbers, sales volumes and more,” said Paul Hagey, Editor-in-Chief of the Real Estate Almanac.
Real Estate Almanac
The SP 200 represents the first of five annual data-backed, researched lists and rankings from T3 Sixty’s Data division; together, these components make up the Real Estate Almanac — the most wide-ranging compendium of its kind in the residential real estate brokerage industry.
The following sections will also be published in 2023:
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Organized Real Estate: A ranking of the nation’s largest MLSs and Realtor associations (February)
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Technology: A list of the industry’s leading technology products (March)
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Corporations: A ranking of the nation’s largest holding companies and franchise brands (April)
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Mega 1000: A ranking of the nation’s 1,000 largest brokerage companies (May)
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About the SP 200
The SP 200 (Swanepoel Power 200), the first section of the annual Real Estate Almanac, ranks the nation’s 200 most powerful residential real estate brokerage leaders every year based on a variety of factors, including size of the company they lead, personal leadership and influence within the industry, track record, resources at their disposal and recent initiatives. First published in 2014, the 2023 SP 200 can be viewed online at sp200.com.
About the Real Estate Almanac
Every year, T3 Sixty analyzes and publishes a comprehensive report on the industry in the Real Estate Almanac. It is composed of five components, published sequentially online in the first five months of each year: executives (SP 200, January); organized real estate organizations (ORE 200, February); technology providers (Tech 500, March); holding companies, franchise brands and public companies (Enterprise, April); and the nation’s largest brokerage companies (Mega 1000, May). All research, analysis and rankings are compiled every year by the team at T3 Sixty. More information at realestatealmanac.com.
About T3 Sixty
T3 Sixty is the leading management consultancy in the residential real estate industry with business units in brokerage, technology, mergers and acquisitions, and organized real estate. The group also provides software and data, extensive research and reports, executive search and event management services. For more information, visit t360.com.
Media Contact
Chris Reilly, T3 Sixty, LLC., 949.397.2108, chris@t3sixty.com
SOURCE SP 200
