{"id":2965,"date":"2022-03-25T10:28:23","date_gmt":"2022-03-25T10:28:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/preprod.realtrends.com\/blog\/2022\/03\/25\/realtrends-500-87-new-brokerage-firms-on-the-billionaires-club\/"},"modified":"2025-03-13T02:41:09","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T02:41:09","slug":"realtrends-500-87-new-brokerage-firms-on-the-billionaires-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/preprod.realtrends.com\/blog\/2022\/03\/25\/realtrends-500-87-new-brokerage-firms-on-the-billionaires-club\/","title":{"rendered":"RealTrends 500: 88 new brokerage firms on The Billionaire’s Club"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Billionaire\u2019s Club consists of the top U.S. real estate brokerage firms that closed at least one billion dollars\u2019 worth of real estate in 2021, according to data from the 2022 RealTrends 500 brokerage rankings<\/a>. Not only does this rarified group include more firms than ever before: 435, versus 347 last year, but this year\u2019s rankings also feature many firms on the list for the first time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new players<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Among the 88 new firms with the highest representation on The Billionaire\u2019s Club, 46 are Keller Williams<\/strong> companies, 13 are with RE\/MAX<\/strong>, six Coldwell Banker<\/strong>, and three HomeSmart<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steven Barks, President and COO, Worth Clark Realty<\/strong>, a 100% commission model based in Missouri and in The Billionaire\u2019s Club for the first time, said, \u201cLast year was a stress test in expansion.\u201d Both his firm\u2019s transaction and agent count grew by 39%. \u201cWe learned a lot about the expansion process by entering two new states and opening nine new major markets last year,\u201d he reveals. Looking ahead, Barks predicts that inventory and closed sales will continue to trend down or stay relatively flat this year, making agent productivity a key metric to watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mauricio Umansky<\/a>, CEO, The Agency<\/strong>, a Beverly Hills-based brokerage that submitted to the RealTrends 500 rankings for the first time, explains how his company expanded its global network while still maintaining its boutique, luxury approach. The Agency expanded to more than 50 offices (including 11 new franchises opening in 2021), with just over 1,000 agents total. \u201cMy dream is to create a global company that still operates as a boutique,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Explosive Growth<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cProbably the single biggest factor behind this jump is the price increase in housing,\u201d says Steve Murray, Partner, RTC Consulting<\/a> and a senior advisor to RealTrends<\/strong>. \u201cThe median price of a home jumped 22-25% in two years. We\u2019ve never seen that before.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the strong market, Murray describes a wave of consolidation that began two years ago. \u201cSuddenly, the larger firms \u2014 and those striving to be larger \u2014 got larger faster than ever before,\u201d he says. He attributes this primarily to the major brokerages being more tech-savvy, using Zoom<\/strong> and Microsoft Teams<\/strong> to communicate with their agents to keep relationships personal and strong. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These bigger firms also used their more advanced technology suites to rapidly complete virtual transactions, and \u2014 in the case of Keller Williams<\/strong> \u2014 recruit and train agents. Basically, \u201cthe brokerages with the better tech platforms performed better,\u201d he explains. While the larger firms got stronger, the middle of the market shrank. \u201cMore agents are gravitating towards firms that are either big and very strong or have a niche specialty,\u201d summarizes Murray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, some of the firms new to the list are in smaller markets. For instance, \u201cfrom 2019 through the end of 2021, business increased by about 230% for Four Seasons Sotheby\u2019s<\/strong> in Vermont and New Hampshire,\u201d notes Murray. Brokers in the Poconos in Pennsylvania and in Portland, Maine also saw record sales. “People have been coming out of big cities with money to buy a second home or they just packed up and moved,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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