Divvy Homes co-founder and CEO Adena Hefets and the online real estate marketplace, data and analytics company CoStar Group, which made waves last year when it announced a search portal to rival Zillow in New York City, walked off with individual and company Inman “Innovators of the Year” awards for trailblazing work across the industry, it was announced Friday at Connect.
Finalists for the coveted awards, which since 1998 have recognized companies, individuals and new technology shaping the real estate industry, were announced in July. Heavyweights such as David Doctorow of Realtor.com and Ben Kinney and Chris Suarez of Place and Anywhere and Pacaso in the “Company of the Year” category were among the contenders.
Under Hefets, Divvy has excelled as a rent-to-own platform that empowers consumers to start building equity immediately once they start renting a property with Divvy.
Meanwhile, CoStar Group, which founded the New York-based search portal Citysnap in 2022, has been recognized as pushing forward innovation and transparency in the industry through its online real estate marketplace and analytics.
Real estate veteran Sherry Chris was also recognized for her work giving back to the real estate community with the Nate Ellis Award. Chris, who has served in the real estate industry for more than three decades, has held executive positions at both Better Homes and Gardens and Realogy. Although she was not able to attend the ceremony, she recognized her appreciation for the award to the Inman Connect Las Vegas crowd through a pre-recorded video.
“When I think about Nate [Ellis], he had a gift for training and helping others and used that gift to uplift his colleagues in the real estate industry and beyond,” Chris said.
“I’ve dedicated my career to giving back to the industry, to helping others be better, so this industry can be a better place.”
Inman received nearly 600 nominations from the public for this year’s Innovator Awards, and made a careful evaluation of the individuals and companies who stood out in 2022. Here are this year’s winners.
Innovator of the Year (individual or individuals)
Adena Hefets, Divvy Homes
Adena Hefets and Pete Haviland-Eduah of Divvy Homes | Photos by AJ Canaria of MoxiWorks
Company of the Year
CoStar Group
CoStar Group | Photos by AJ Canaria of MoxiWorks
Agent or Team of the Year
Weinberg-Choi Residential, Keller Williams
Tommy Choi of Weinberg-Choi Residential | Photos by AJ Canaria of MoxiWorks
Brokerage of the Year
@properties Christie’s International Real Estate
Amy Corr of @properties Christie’s International Real Estate | Photos by AJ Canaria of MoxiWorks
Real Estate Technology of the Year
BoomTown
Andrew Chishchevoy of BoomTown | Photos by AJ Canaria of MoxiWorks
Video/Podcast of the Year
Over Ask podcast, Eric Simon (“Broke Agent”) and Matt Lionetti
Eric Simon and Matt Lionetti | Photos by AJ Canaria of MoxiWorks
Best Marketing Solution/Campaign of the Year
AnywheRE rebrand
Chris Nichols of AnywheRE | Photos by AJ Canaria of MoxiWorks
MLS, Association, or Industry Organization of the Year
LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance
Ryan Weyandt of LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance | Photos by AJ Canaria of MoxiWorks
The Nate Ellis Award
Sherry Chris, Realogy brands
2021 Innovators
In 2021, Inman Innovator Award winners included Sean Black of Knock, Tim Heyl of Homeward, Shaival Shah of Ribbon, Side, eXp Realty, and more. That year, Joel Singer of the California Association of Realtors was the recipient of the Nate Ellis Award.
The 2022 Inman Innovator Award finalists included:
Innovator of the Year (individual or individuals)
- John Berkowitz, OJO Labs
- Christy Budnick, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices
- David Doctorow, Realtor.com
- Denee Evans, CMLS
- Tushar Garg, Flyhomes
- Adena Hefets, Divvy
- Ben Kinney and Chris Suarez, PLACE
Company of the Year
- Anywhere
- CoStar Group
- Divvy
- Homeward
- Pacaso
- RentSpree
- Trust Neighborhoods
Agent or team
- Alexander Team, OFFICIAL (Tal & Oren Alexander)
- Bond Street Partners, The Agency (James Harris and David Parnes)
- Figueroa Team, eXp Realty (Veronica Figueroa)
- Ige Johnson, RE/MAX Generation
- Spears Group, Compass (Jonathan Spears)
- Weinberg-Choi Residential, Keller Williams (Josh Weinberg and Tommy Choi)
Brokerage
- The Agency
- Aston Rose
- @properties Christie’s International Real Estate
- Coldwell Banker
- Fathom Realty
- Keller Williams Capital Properties
- The Real Brokerage
Real estate technology
- Baselane
- BoomTown
- Elm Street
- HighNote
- Localize
- OwnUp
- Tangilla AMS
Video/Podcast
- Building Blox, Trurealty
- BuiltHOW Podcast, Ben Kinney and Debbie De Grote
- Brad McCallum, Calgary Realtor (YouTube)
- Coffee with Amy & Kevin, @properties Christie’s International Real Estate
- Over Ask podcast, Eric Simon (The Broke Agent) and Matt Lionetti
- The Real Word, Byron Lazine and Nicole White
- LISTED by SERHANT. (YouTube)
MLS, Association or Industry Organization
- Asian Real Estate Association (AREAA)
- Austin Board of Realtors
- California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.)
- California Regional MLS (CRMLS)
- Fair Housing Alliance
- LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance
- The RLS
Marketing
- Anywhere rebrand
- “Closing the Gap” campaign, Realtor.com
- Dina Goldentayer #STEPINSIDEWITHME, Douglas Elliman
- “Paint the Big Apple Red” at ICNY, The Agency
- “Side Hustle: Student & Graduate Real Estate Agents,” TRU Realty
- “Women’s History Month” campaign, Keller Williams Capital Properties
