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A number of familiar names topped RealTrends + Tom Ferry’s The Thousand list released on Friday, including — you guessed it — HomesUSA.com’s consistently top-earning broker Ben Caballero who has clinched the no. 1 individual agent spot for both transaction sides and sales volume since 2013. In 2021, Caballero completed $1.98 billion in sales volume across 4,671 sides.
Sotheby’s International Realty also swept the individual agent by sales volume category as the brand most represented with the company’s agents making up approximately 20 percent of agents recognized in that category.
The Thousand ranks the top 1,000 residential real estate agents and teams in the U.S. based on 2021 annual sales volume and transaction sides.
Philip White | Photo credit: Sotheby’s International Realty
“Once again, Sotheby’s International Realty agents continue to outperform the industry,” Philip White, president and CEO of Sotheby’s International Realty, said in a statement.
“In 2021, the brand achieved a global sales volume of $204 billion — a more than 33 percent increase year over year, significantly outpacing NAR. These rankings show that more luxury agents who transact at the high-end are affiliated with Sotheby’s International Realty than any other brand, and it recognizes their many accomplishments during another historic year.”
This year’s top individual agents closed an average of 241.2 transaction sides over the course of 2021, up from 211 in 2020, RealTrends noted, and averaged a sales volume of $253.8 million, up from $213.2 million the previous year. For the first time in the rankings’ history, individual top agents had an average sales price of more than $1 million.
Meanwhile, teams averaged 430 transaction sides, down modestly from 443 sides per team the year before. Still, teams bested their sales volume from 2020, with an average of $257.5 million in sales volume, up from $231.2 million in 2020.
Small teams (1-5 members) tended to close more transactions than medium (6-10 members) or large teams (11-20 members), RealTrends noted, although Steve Murray, founder of The Thousand rankings, said in a statement that it’s impossible to pinpoint the exact cause for their better performance.
Steve Murray | Real Trends Consulting
“This could be because smaller teams have closer relationships with agents and tighter controls,” Murray said. “It’s hard to say for sure. It could also be that the medium- and large-sized teams are still scaling up. Of course, all of them are facing the challenge of recruiting and developing talent for their teams. From talking to many, they’re also being challenged by the experienced, internal agents wanting a higher split. This is, of course, the same problem that major brokerages face and have for years.”
Many of the top individual agents remained the same from last year’s rankings, with some exceptions — Dora Puig of Luxe Living Realty moved up from 13th place for individual volume to 5th place this year, and Chris Cortazzo of Compass, who didn’t make the top 15 for sales volume last year, nailed the no.3 place this year.
Branden and Rayni of Williams & Williams at The Beverly Hills Estates, The Alexander Team, The Jills Zader Group, and Mark Spain Real Estate all held firm from their rankings last year as top teams in their small, medium, large and mega team categories for this year.
Other industry household names that appeared several times across the different categories included the likes of Keller Williams, RE/MAX, Compass, Douglas Elliman and Coldwell Banker.
See the top five individuals and teams in each category below:
Individual agent: transaction sides
- Ben Caballero; HomesUSA.com; Dallas, Texas
- Ralph Harvey; ListWithFreedom.com; Boynton Beach, Florida
- Steven Koleno; EXIT Strategy Realty; Chicago, Illinois
- George Kypreos; GK Properties Real Estate & Management; Henderson, Nevada
- Jonathan Minerick; homecoin.com; San Diego, California
Individual agent: sales volume
- Ben Caballero; HomesUSA.com; Dallas, Texas
- Christian Angle; Christian Angle Real Estate; Palm Beach, Florida
- Chris Cortazzo; Compass; Malibu, California
- Ralph Harvey; ListWithFreedom.com; Boynton Beach, Florida
- Dora Puig; Luxe Living Realty; Miami Beach, Florida
Small agent team: transaction sides
- j2 Group Inc.; Knipe Realty ERA Powered; Portland, Oregon
- Graddy Real Estate; Graddy Real Estate; Springfield, Missouri
- The Kypreos Team; HomeSmart; Las Vegas, Nevada
- Amanda & Kyle Team; ERA All In One Realty; Albany, Georgia
- The Anderson Team; Keller Williams Memphis Central; Southaven, Mississippi
Small agent team: sales volume
- Branden and Rayni Williams of Williams & Williams at The Beverly Hills Estates; The Beverly Hills Estates; West Hollywood, California
- Bisignano Group; Vista Sotheby’s International Realty; Palos Verdes Estates, California
- Riskin Partners Estate Group; Village Properties; Montecito, California
- j2 Group Inc.; Knipe Realty ERA Powered; Portland, Oregon
- Jim McCann Group; Premier Estate Properties; Palm Beach, Florida
Medium agent team: transaction sides
- ListingSpark; Listing Spark; Austin, Texas
- The Maryland-Delaware Group of Long & Foster; Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc.; Salisbury, Maryland
- Vutech_Ruff; Corcoran Global Living; Columbus, Ohio
- AZ Properties Team; RE/MAX Preferred Professionals; Kingman, Arizona
- The Boehmer Team; Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Select Properties; O’Fallon, Missouri
Medium agent team: sales volume
- Alexander Team; Douglas Elliman; New York, New York
- Leavitt McIntosh Team; Douglas Elliman; Palm Beach, Florida
- The Hedgerow Team; Hedgerow Exclusive Properties; Bridgehampton, New York
- Daftarian Group; Luxe Real Estate; Corona Del Mar, California
- K2 Team; K2 Realty; North Palm Beach, Florida
Large agent team: transaction sides
- Rhodes Team; Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty Texas; Flower Mound, Texas
- The Heyl Group; Keller Williams Ballantyne Area; Austin, Texas
- The PCS Pro Team; Keller Williams Southeast Alabama; Colorado Springs, Colorado
- The Matthews Team; RE/MAX Legends; Spring, Texas
- The Mottola Group; Compass; Wilmington, Delaware
Large agent team: sales volume
- The Jills Zeder Group; Coldwell Banker Realty; Miami Beach, Florida
- The Altman Brothers Team; Douglas Elliman; Los Angeles, California
- The TSE Group; Intero – A Berkshire Hathaway Affiliate; Saratoga, California
- NWG; Compass; Seattle, Washington
- The Heyl Group; Keller Williams Ballantyne Area; Austin, Texas
Mega agent team: transaction sides
- Mark Spain Real Estate; Mark Spain Real Estate; Alpharetta, Georgia
- PLACE; Place Inc.; Bellingham, Washington
- The Robert Slack Team; The Robert Slack Group; Orlando, Florida
- JMG; Jason Mitchell Real Estate; Scottsdale, Arizona
- Kris Lindahl; Kris Lindahl Real Estate; Coon Rapids, Minnesota
Mega agent team: sales volume
- PLACE; Place Inc.; Bellingham, Washington
- Mark Spain Real Estate; Mark Spain Real Estate; Alpharetta, Georgia
- Justin Tye Team; Active Realty; Irvine, California
- The Robert Slack Team; The Robert Slack Group; Orlando, Florida
- JMG; Jason Mitchell Real Estate; Scottsdale, Arizona
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