It seems that the number of top brokerage lists is getting cluttered. REAL Trends has its perennial 500 Top Brokerage list, and they have always been the gold standard of top brokerage and agent lists with the most reliable data. Then last year and again this year T3 Sixty came out with its Mega 1000 list, which they recently released their second one.
But as a business consultant, to me, the clear winner in terms of practical value is the work that RISMedia does with its annual Power Broker Report. Let’s face it: the RISMedia Power Broker Report is the industry’s favorite. And with good reason.
First, the list is the granddaddy of them all. This is the 31st straight year RISMedia has been publishing their Power Broker Report. The Top 1000 list appears to me to be the most comprehensive and I have always found it incredibly accurate. It is the one list I turn to all year long and the ones my clients ask me about most. And for RISMedia clients, they get even more information from the Power Broker survey with additional insight into each listed brokerage and its management team.
Second, the Power Broker Report is just one component. RISMedia taps into its Power Broker resources and presents a Power Broker Forum. It is one of the best brokerage-led workshops at the National Association of REALTORS annual fall meeting. I have attended these Power Broker Forums almost every year for the more than a decade. Each Power Broker panel is stacked with thought leaders, and the conversation always delivers some of the most valuable takeaways at any NAR session.
Third, in addition to the Forum, RISMedia hosts in the evening at the NAR conference a Power Broker Reception and Dinner. By attending, I have had the opportunity to meet top leaders of brokerages who you never see at any other event. It is the “Who’s Who” of the brokerage and franchise industry that turn out for these events.
Fourth, RISMedia leverages the research from their annual Power Broker survey to share the findings in a series of articles that dig into not only how the rankings have changed year-to-year and what that means to the industry, but also RISMedia delves into what makes the Top firms successful. These best practices articles are another differentiator that makes the RISMedia Power Broker Report so anticipated and studied.
Here are a few examples that followed the release of this year’s report:
- RISMedia’s 31st Annual Power Broker Report: HomeServices Now No. 1 in Transactions
- RISMedia’s 2019 Power Broker Report: Pressing Pause, Finding Balance
- Power Brokers: Lack of Listings Remains Troublesome, but Another Concern Is Emerging
- Power Brokers: As Competition Heats Up, Dollars Go to Growth
- Power Brokers: Training to Win
- Power Brokers: Culture-Forward and Leading With Support
- Power Brokers: Allaying Fears and Navigating the New Tax Territory
- Power Brokers: Committing to Technology, Not Tunnel Vision
Then final plus in all of this is the team at RISMedia, led by John Featherston, CEO and publisher and Darryl MacPherson, Executive Vice President. It would be hard to find two more media leaders who are more passionate about real estate brokerages and franchises. Their entire team is top-notch, which explains the longevity of the company and its Power Broker report.
The report is so successful that it is now sponsored. A shout out goes to American Home Shield, Homes.com, HSA Home Warranty, Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® and Pillar To Post Home Inspectors for underwriting this vital research.
You can see their new interactive online directory here.
I realize everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and as I have to accept yours, I hope you will afford me the opportunity to provide mine.
As editor of the Mega 1000 (one of the 3 brokerage ranking lists you refer to) I am obviously deeply involved in this research and acknowledge that my opinion would be considered subjective. That said, I will sincerely try to be logical in my thinking.
My challenge is with the statement that the RIS Media list is “the most comprehensive and I have always found it incredibly accurate.”
Here are my observations:
1. It is evident to any knowledgeable reader that the RIS Media rankings excludes numerous significant brokerage companies that unquestionably should be ranked in the top 10 brokerages the nation, but are not.
For example:
Redfin, an industry household name, a significant public company, with sales of $25 billion, is just smaller that Douglas Elliman ($28 billion annual sales volume) which RIS Media ranks at #4 (as does the Mega 1000) and larger than eXp Realty ($19 billion) is ranked by both RIS Media and Mega 1000 at #6.
RIS Media does not rank Redfin as a top 10 company, or anywhere in their top 500 for that matter.
The Mega 1000 ranks Redfin as the fifth largest company (based on sales volume), where they should be ranked.
2. RIS Media places Hanna Holdings in at number #5 with an annual sales volume of $23 billion.
This is incorrect as Hanna Holdings did not close the Alan Tate acquisition (combined sales volume of $23 billion) before 12/31/18 and therefore the Hanna Holdings sales volume, excluding the acquisition is $16 billion. That places Hanna Holding at #8 and not #5.
Analysis must follow a consistent set of rules across the board otherwise numbers will be corrupted with inconsistencies and inaccuracies. Just think how many acquisitions have occurred in the last few years Long & Foster, Ebby Halliday, PacUnion, Alain Pinel Realtors, Stribling, etc. and how each of these transactions if not handled in a similar way would change the results.
3. As the majority of brokerage companies are private, and do not easy or voluntarily provide their numbers (sales volume, transactions sides, office count and/or agent count) it is difficult to ascertain what the exact/correct numbers.
RIS Media, Real Trends and T3 Sixty (managers of the Mega 1000) all use different methods to gather data including largely self-reporting together with different levels of verification. But to exclude companies that are widely known to be large and therefore would be ranked high, is in our opinion, fundamentally wrong. Such exclusion creates a domino effect downline which causes all other brokerage companies to be ranked higher, and therefore knowingly incorrect.
For example:
If you are creating a ranking of the 10 largest cities in the US, and Chicago (#3) and Houston (#4) decide not to self-report/participate in your survey, you can’t simply leave them off your ranking and bump Phoenix from the fifth largest city to the 3rd largest city.
That simply wrong. Chicago is still the 3rd largest city even if you choose not to include in your ranking results.
But that’s exactly what the industry has have been doing in real estate for decades. The industry has historically allowed self-reporting to a key driver of who should be ranked and who should not be ranked. And, in our opinion, that is wrong, misleading and does not reflect reality.
4. This has got to stop and T3 Sixty is hoping to bring more transparency to the industry and providing more and better data
T3 Sixty acknowledges that the Mega 1000 created by T3 Sixty is not perfect and certainly is still missing some brokerages, especially as one drops down the rankings. But the Mega 1000 does not exclude brokerage companies simply because they do not self-report. Self-reporting is very important and a valuable method of gathering data but it is not the only way T3 Sixty uses and we will continue to research and analyze to the best of our abilities so as to determine numbers we think reflect them more meaningfully than simply leaving them off.
Redfin mentioned above, is one example, but there are others such as Weichert Realtors, Realty One Group.
The Mega 1000 will always attempt to get the information, from whatever source, and where possible will attempt to verify the accuracy of that or any self-reported data. T3 Sixty is dedicated to improving the quality of data the industry has been using.
Stefan Swanepoel
CEO, T3 Sixty
Editor-in-Chief of the Mega 1000
PS: The general public / consumer most certainly does not care about the rankings of brokerage companies, and most of the industry probably is not too concerned about it either. We acknowledge that rankings per say are being blown out of proportion, but the ranking is information and information is power. And as information is used to take decisions it is important that information you rely on is accurate as it can be.
Our beloved industry is under growing pains and as we all strive to become better brokers, better agents, delivering better services to our customers, so T3 Sixty is trying to be better researchers and making its Mega 1000 report the best research and rankings.