Residential real estate is led by vocal advocates, visionaries, and fierce competitors, all of whom have a unique idea of the way forward for the industry. Profiling just 200 of those leaders, the Swanepoel Power 200 (SP200) for 2015 highlights the most influential and powerful leaders in the residential real estate brokerage industry, hailing from the halls of Keller Williams, Zillow, NAR, and many more brands you’re familiar with.
Holding the top spot for the second consecutive year is Richard A. Smith, Chairman, CEO and President of Realogy. Stefan Swanepoel, Editor-in-Chief of the SP200 list said in a statement, “While there are others who have higher personal profiles, within the industry there is no doubt that none have more power and influence in almost every aspect of the residential real estate brokerage industry than Smith.” Realogy owns half of the top 10 brands in the industry: Coldwell Banker, Century 21, Sotheby’s International Realty, ERA, and Better Homes and Gardens, and has over 240,000 brokers and agents worldwide. Realogy touches one in every four homes sold in America.
The SP200 is broken down into five categories
The SP200 ranks the “Power Players” in five categories, including Corporate Executives, Brokerage Executives, Technology Executives, Executives in Organized Real Estate, and Thought Leaders (Economists, Coaches, Consultants, and Media Executives). The power and influence of powerful people in Government, Banking, and Social Media, as well as Canadians and Women, are featured in separate lists.
Of note, the second most powerful person named in the SP200 is Spencer Rascoff, CEO of Zillow who moved up one spot from last year. The SP200 report cites the “eye-popping” $3.5 billion acquisition of chief rival, Trulia, taking the joint company to the 140 million monthly unique user mark, “nearly four and a half times its nearest competitor.”
Other major power players list include Gary Keller, founder and Chairman of Keller Williams Realty International; Dave Liniger, founder and Chairman of RE/MAX; Wesley Foster, founder and Chairman of Long and Foster; Jim Weichert, founder and President of Weichert Realtors; and Dale Stinton, CEO of the National Association of REALTORS®.
Leaders climbing in the rankings
Climbing in the rankings from last year, and making it into the top 10 this year, are the leaders of the two largest brokerage companies in the country, Bruce Zipf, President and CEO of NRT LLC, and Robert Moline, President and COO of HomeServices of America, the wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices.
Helen Hanna-Casey, President of Hanna Holdings, joins the top 20 as the highest-ranking woman in 2014/15, taking the top women’s spot on the SP200 from Margaret Kelly, the former CEO of RE/MAX who retired in 2014. Three noteworthy newcomers to the SP200 are Ryan O’Hara, the newly appointed CEO of Move, Inc. after the company was acquired by Rupert Murdoch of News Corp.; Former PayPal, LinkedIn, Yelp, YouTube, and AirBnB entrepreneur and now founder of Opendoor, Keith Rabois; and Kevin J Kelleher, CEO and President of Cartus Corporation, a global relocation subsidiary of Realogy.
“The SP200 serves to identify those leaders that impact and lead the residential real estate brokerage industry,” Rob Hahn, Executive Editor of the Swanepoel Power 200 said. “We acknowledge their enormous influence and contribution to our industry by detailing their role in improving the overall home buying transaction and the real estate business in particular.”
View the full list at SP200.com. A sincere congratulations goes to all SP200 leaders!
A special congratulations go to our Founder, Benn Rosales, as well as our COO, Lani Rosales for being named in this year’s SP200!
#SP200
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