2023 The Thousand real estate rankings show shining stars

Nothing about today’s market is “normal.” Like all market shifts, there are some similarities, but different economic circumstances. This year’s rankings mirror what is happening in the market — low inventory, still high prices — with a record number of real estate professionals qualifying by sales volume and transaction sides, although average sides dropped from last year.

This year’s rankings found that a lower percentage of The Thousand agents qualified in both sides and sales volume. Overall, agents and teams in 2023 The Thousand (based on 2022 data), had a total of 233,330 transaction sides and sales volume of $169 billion.

RealTrends + Tom Ferry The Thousand is an annual, national ranking program presented by RealTrends—the Trusted Source—and Tom Ferry International coaching, advertised in The Wall Street Journal.

Designees are recognized as the top .065% of more than 1.6 million licensed Realtors® nationwide. The rankings are based on 2022 data.

The top five brands on The Thousand (both individual agents and teams) are:

1. RE/MAX: 142
2. Keller Williams: 95
3. Compass: 77
4. Coldwell Banker Real Estate: 75
5. Sotheby’s International Real Estate: 54

RE/MAX has held the No. 1 brand position since 2020 when they overtook Keller Williams.

Individual agents: Lower average transaction sides

Top-performing real estate agents and teams closed an average of 212 sides in 2022, down from 241.2 transaction sides in 2021. This number mirrors 2020, which up from 211 in 2020, breaking records in the 2023 RealTrends + Tom Ferry The Thousand rankings.

Average Transaction Sides

• 2020 (2021 rankings): 211
• 2021 (2022 rankings) 241.2
• 2022 (2023 rankings): 212

The rankings always yield interesting insights into the state of the industry. 2022 (the year the 2023 rankings were based on) was still a solid production year for the most productive real estate agents.

The top individuals averaged 212 closed transaction sides and sales volume of $226 million, down from $253.8 million last year. In 2021 (2020 data), top individuals closed $213.2 million. The average sales price, which was over $1 million last year, dropped to $723,273 for the 2023 rankings.

Teams doing more transaction sides than last year

Teams, of all sizes, in the The Thousand averaged 565 transaction sides per team and the average team closing $445 million in sales volume. But, a year-over-year comparison doesn’t tell the true story.

“In 2022, we saw a significant number of teams specialize in ultra-luxury properties, which brought down the average number of transactions,” said Mark Adams, vice president of real estate for RealTrends. “This year, the qualifiers for The Thousand were increasingly more focused on non-ultra luxury transactions. Thus, teams are doing more transaction sides but the home prices aren’t growing exponentially as they had in previous years.”

Top agents and teams with a well-known brand

Of those individuals named to The Thousand, 67% are associated with a well-known national or regional brand. Individuals has an average sales price of $1.1 million.

For the teams on our study, some 68% are associated with a well-known regional or national-branded brokerage firm. Teams had an average sales price of $622,632.

Here are those top-of-the-list in RealTrends + Tom Ferry The Thousand:

Individuals by Volume

1. Ben Caballero, HomesUSA.com, Texas
2. Jay Kendall, Watson Realty Corp., Orlando
3. Ralph Harvey, Listwithfreedom.com, Florida

Individuals by Transaction Sides

1. Ben Caballero, HomesUSA.com, Texas
2. Ralph Harvey, Listwithfreedom.com, Florida
3. Steven Koleno, EXIT Strategy Realty, Illinois

Small Teams by Volume

1. The Williams & Williams Estates Group, The Beverly Hills Estates, California
2. Bond Street Partners, The Agency, California
3. Riskin Partners Estate Group, Village Properties, California

Small Teams by Transaction Sides

1. Amanda & Kyla Team, ERA All in One Realty, Georgia
2. The Knox Team, Compass, Tennessee
3. The Anderson Team, Keller Williams Realty Memphis Central, Tennessee

Medium Teams by Volume

1. Alexander Team, Official, New York
2. The Fridman Group, Compass, California
3. Teixeira Team, Douglas Elliman, Florida

Medium Teams by Transaction Sides

1. Nicole Freer Group, NFG, Texas
2. Graddy Real Estate, Keller Williams Realty Greater Springfield, Missouri
3. The Adam Flinchbaugh Team, RE/MAX Patriots, Pennsylvania

Large Teams by Volume

1. The Jills Zeder Group, Coldwell Banker Realty, Florida
2. The Altman Brothers Team, Douglas Elliman, California
3. The TSE Group, Intero Real Estate Services – a Berkshire Hathaway Affiliate, California

Large Teams by Transaction Sides

1. Mark Dimas Team, Mark Dimas Properties, Texas
2. The Matthews Team, RE/MAX Legends, Texas
3. The Mottola Group, Compass, Delaware

Mega Teams by Volume

1. Place Inc., Place Inc., Washington
2. Mark Spain Real Estate, Mark Spain Real Estate, Georgia
3. JMG, Jason Mitchell Group, Arizona

Mega Teams by Transaction Sides

1. Place Inc., Place Inc., Washington
2. Mark Spain Real Estate, Mark Spain Real Estate, Georgia
3. JMG, Jason Mitchell Group, Arizona