Just like in the 2022 and 2021 rankings, the top four brokerages in the country by both sales volume and transaction sides remained Compass, Anywhere Advisors (formerly Realogy), eXp Realty, and HomeServices of America. According to Steve Murray, the senior advisor at RealTrends Consulting, these four firms were responsible for over 20% of the U.S. market share by sales volume in 2022.
While the rest of the market and the RealTrends 500 may appear to be taken up by a variety of other firms, when grouped by affiliate or franchise network, another top four firms emerge: Keller Williams, RE/MAX, Anywhere Brands, and Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. These four firms also held the top spots last year.
Overall, of the top 500 firms by transaction sides, 359 or roughly 72% were franchise affiliates of either Keller Williams, RE/MAX, Anywhere Brands or BHHS. This is up from 69% a year ago.
Of these four firms, Keller Williams recorded the most transactions sides in 2023 (based on 2022 numbers) at 811,076, and the most sales volume in 2022 at $342.5 billion. The Gary Keller-helmed firm also had the largest number of franchise affiliates in the top 500 at 191, with the top ranked Keller Williams affiliate, Dallas-Fort Worth-based Keller Williams Realty, GO Network Offices, coming in at No. 12 by transaction sides and No. 16 by sales volume.
Anywhere Brands, which includes the Coldwell Banker, Sotheby’s, ERA, Better Homes & Gardens, Corcoran, and Century 21 brands, ranked second among franchise networks with 399,481 sides for a sales volume of $225.8 billion, with 87 firms in the top 500.
RE/MAX, which had 63 firms in the top 500, was third with 255,361 sides and a sales volume of $111.6 billion, and BHHS, which had 18 franchises in the top 500, was fourth with 117,906 sides and $47.9 billion in volume.
Looking ahead, while these four firms certainly have a strong grasp on the top of the franchise affiliate space, they may be facing some competition. In late February, Robert Reffkin, the CEO of Compass, revealed during his firm’s fourth-quarter earnings call with investors that executives at the firm are considering franchising as a way to further expand the brand while defraying the cost to do so.
“When it comes to new markets, instead of having to hire a bunch of people and build out the office space in advance of having the revenue to cover it, franchising is definitely a more profitable way to grow, so that is something that we are exploring,” Reffkin said on the call. “It is important to keep in mind, however, that we would not do it in a way where it would impair the experience for our existing agents in any way. So, for example, we would not franchise in the same geographic area as our owned brokerage operation.”
Topping the RealTrends 500 rankings in sales volume for the second year in a row, this latest play by Reffkin and Compass has the potential to solidify the firm’s standings as sales volume top dog.
