Today’s RealTrending features Steve Murray, senior advisor to RealTrends and Tracey Velt, editorial director of RealTrends talk about the future of independent brokerages and offer an analysis of the RealTrends 500 and Nation’s Best rankings.
Here is a small preview of today’s interview with Steve Murray and Tracey Velt. The transcript below has been lightly edited for length and clarity:
Tracey Velt: With the rankings, did you find any surprises or anything that caused you to pause?
Steve Murray: I wasn’t horribly surprised that Compass became the largest in volume. I think that was going to happen sooner or later, given their growth rate. I was surprised it happened this fast.
Same with eXp, I knew ultimately given the success of the growth in their model, that one day they would probably be the largest in transaction sides, but did not realize how quickly they would ascend into the top three or so brokerages in the country. Those were part of my surprise.
If you look back, whether it’s five years ago or 10 years ago, you look at the number of companies that weren’t anywhere near the top 10 that are now clearly in the top 10. I mean, among traditional firms, look at the Howard Hanna organization. I mean, 10 years ago, I doubt they were in the top 10, but they’re clearly in the top 10 now. I think they’re actually number five in transactions.
Also, you have to look at companies like United Real Estate, HomeSmart, and Fathom, and how fast they have grown and become fairly large national companies. Those were surprises to me, how fast they got there.
RealTrending features the brightest minds in real estate. Twice a month, brokerage leaders, top agents, team leaders, and industry experts share their success secrets, trends, and lessons learned navigating this ever-changing industry. Hosted by Tracey Velt and produced by Elissa Branch.