Most of the U.S.’s largest brokerages grew their businesses in 2013 at a pace exceeding the growth of the market as a whole, according to an annual analysis by Real Trends that also reveals which companies grew the fastest.
The Real Trends 500 report ranks the top 500 U.S. brokerages by transaction sides and sales volume, based on data supplied by brokerages to Real Trends (companies that do not provide data are excluded).
The nation’s top 20 brokerages by sales volume all reported double-digit growth in 2013, as their agents not only generated more “transaction sides” — each instance in which they represented either a buyer or seller in a home sale — but rising home prices boosted the value of those sales.
According to Fannie Mae, sales of existing homes were up 9.2 percent in 2013, while the median price of an existing home was up 11.3 percent, to $197,000.
Assuming those trends were distributed evenly in all housing markets — which they were not — real estate brokerages could expect growth in home sales and home prices to translate into a roughly 21 percent growth in 2013 sales volume.
Many of the nation’s largest brokers saw much bigger gains. HomeSmart International boosted sales volume by 50 percent; HomeServices of America grew sales volume by 49 percent; and Realty One Group ratcheted up sales volume by 47 percent. Other top gainers included Pacific Union International and Re/Max Results, both up 45 percent.
HomeServices of America, the nation’s second-biggest brokerage company, got a boost in the 2013 rankings through its acquisition of Prudential Fox & Roach Realtors. The Philadelphia-based brokerage, which was ranked sixth in the 2012 Real Trends 500 with $8 billion in sales volume, now does business as Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach.
While all the big brokers saw big gains in sales volume, some did better than others. Fast-climbing companies in the Real Trends 500 rankings included Realty One Group (moving from 10th in 2012 sales volume to seventh), Ebby Halliday Real Estate (from 12th to ninth), Pacific Union International (from 18th to 13th), John L. Scott (19th to 14th), HomeSmart International (22nd to 15th), and Re/Max Results (from 23rd to 19th).
Top 20 brokerages by sales volume, 2013
| Brokerage | 2013 sales volume | 2012 sales volume | Percentage change | 2012 rank |
| 1. NRT LLC | $151.1 billion | $128.8 billion | 17% | 1 |
| 2. HomeServices of America Inc. | $63.5 billion | $42.6 billion | 49% | 2 |
| 3. The Long & Foster Companies Inc. | $26.1 billion | $22.5 billion | 16% | 3 |
| 4. Douglas Elliman | $15.0 billion | $12.4 billion | 21% | 4 |
| 5. Alain Pinel Realtors | $10.5 billion | $8.8 billion | 19% | 5 |
| 6. Hanna Holdings Inc. | $9.1 billion | $6.7 billion | 36% | 7 |
| 7. Realty One Group | $7.2 billion | $4.9 billion | 47% | 10 |
| 8. William Raveis Real Estate Inc. | $7.1 billion | $5.4 billion | 31% | 8 |
| 9. Ebby Halliday Real Estate Inc. | $6.4 billion | $4.8 billion | 33% | 12 |
| 10. First Team Real Estate | $5.9 billion | $4.8 billion | 23% | 11 |
| 11. Coldwell Banker United, Realtors | $5.7 billion | $5.0 billion | 14% | 9 |
| 12. Intero Real Estate Services Inc. | $5.7 billion | $4.6 billion | 24% | 13 |
| 13. Pacific Union International | $5.5 billion | $3.8 billion | 45% | 18 |
| 14. John L. Scott Real Estate | $4.8 billion | $3.8 billion | 26% | 19 |
| 15. HomeSmart International | $4.8 billion | $3.2 billion | 50% | 22 |
| 16. Coldwell Banker Bain|Seal | $4.7 billion | $3.9 billion | 21% | 16 |
| 17. Crye-Leike Realtors | $4.7 billion | $4.1 billion | 15% | 14 |
| 18. Houlihan Lawrence | $4.7 billion | $3.9 billion | 21% | 17 |
| 19. Re/Max Results (Eden Prairie, Minn.) | $4.5 billion | $3.1 billion | 45% | 23 |
| 20. @properties | $4.5 billion | $3.2 billion | 41% | 21 |
Source: Real Trends
Among top 20 brokerages by transaction sides, all but REALHome Services & Solutions Inc. were involved in more deals in 2013.
Top 20 brokerages by transaction sides, 2013
| Brokerage | 2013 transaction sides | 2012 transaction sides |
Percentage change | 2012 rank |
| 1. NRT LLC | 320,026 | 289,614 | 11% | 1 |
| 2. HomeServices of America Inc. | 205,602 | 151,017 | 36% | 2 |
| 3. The Long & Foster Companies Inc. | 73,202 | 65,912 | 11% | 3 |
| 4. Hanna Holdings Inc. | 48,300 | 37,986 | 27% | 4 |
| 5. Crye-Leike Realtors | 27,491 | 25,520 | 8% | 5 |
| 6. Realty ONE Group | 25,101 | 22,770 | 10% | 7 |
| 7. Coldwell Banker United, Realtors | 25,022 | 22,114 | 13% | 8 |
| 8. Real Estate One | 24,406 | 18,564 | 32% | 10 |
| 9. RealtyUSA | 21,524 | 20,158 | 7% | 9 |
| 10. Allen Tate Companies | 20,083 | 15,932 | 26% | 14 |
| 11. Ebby Halliday Real Estate Inc. | 19,513 | 15,915 | 23% | 15 |
| 12. HomeSmart International | 19,382 | 18,559 | 4% | 11 |
| 13. Re/Max Results (Eden Prairie, Minn.) | 18,470 | 15,633 | 18% | 16 |
| 14. Douglas Elliman Real Estate | 16,923 | 12,976 | 30% | 19 |
| 15. Keller Williams Realty (Dallas) | 16,588 | 13,369 | 24% | 18 |
| 16. William Raveis Real Estate Inc. | 15,100 | 12,193 | 24% | 22 |
| 17. REALHome Services and Solutions Inc. | 15,038 | 16,656 | -10% | 13 |
| 18. West USA Realty Inc. | 14,382 | 13,389 | 7% | 17 |
| 19. Watson Realty Corp. | 14,233 | 12,610 | 13% | 20 |
| 20. John L. Scott Real Estate | 14,009 | 11,833 | 18% | 24 |
Source: Real Trends
