LeadingRE Affiliates Comprise More Than One-Fourth Most Influential Thought Leaders in Real Estate

Pamela O?Connor, president/CEO of LeadingRE, and six LeadingRE affiliate members named real estate powerhouses in Realtor magazine?s list
Pamela O?Connor, president/CEO of LeadingRE, and six LeadingRE affiliate members named real estate powerhouses in Realtor magazine?s list

RISMEDIA, December 19, 2006?Seven of ?Real Estate’s 25 Most Influential Thought Leaders? named in the December issue of Realtor? Magazine are affiliates of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World? (LeadingRE), including Pamela O?Connor, its president/CEO and the first woman to head a major real estate network.

Six additional LeadingRE members were honored: Harold Crye, Crye-Leike; P. Wesley Foster, Long & Foster Companies; Ronald Peltier, HomeServices of America; Harley Rouda, Jr., Real Living; J. Lennox Scott, John L. Scott Real Estate; and Jim Weichert, Weichert Realtors.

?It is great to see so many of our affiliates and our CEO on this prestigious list in recognition of their innovation and leadership,? said LeadingRE?s Chairman of the Board Michael Saunders, of Michael Saunders and Company in Sarasota, Florida. ?We have had tremendous success this year, receiving recognition on a variety of fronts from prominent publications, including Realtor, Real Trends, Wall Street Journal, Unique Homes and Lore Magazine.?

Individuals were nominated through Realtor Magazine?s Web site and directly through select brokers, association executives and industry watchers. The top forces in the industry were then chosen from these nominations for their innovation and dedication to reshaping the real estate industry.

About the winners:

Harold Crye, chairman of The Realty Alliance, one of real estate’s most influential networking and advocacy groups, provides an industry voice to independent brokers in the United States and Canada. Crye is also the president and CEO of the mid-south powerhouse brokerage Crye-Leike, and he has helped expand the company to more than 3,500 associates in 105 offices. He serves as vice chairman of the board of LeadingRE.

P. Wesley Foster, chairman and CEO of Long & Foster Companies, in Fairfax, Va., has built his company over the past 38 yeas to become the largest privately-owned residential firm in the country. Long & Foster has 250 company-owned and operated sales offices and approximately 18,000 associates in the Mid-Atlantic region. Wes Foster is an icon in the business and has received numerous accolades over the years, including being named regional Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young.

Pam O?Connor has a long history managing the networks that ultimately were consolidated into LeadingRE, a prestigious network of more than 650 independent brokerages with 5,500 real estate offices and 160,000 associates in almost 30 countries. O?Connor was also named one of the ?100 Most Influential People in Real Estate? in 2006 by Inman News.

Ronald Peltier is president and CEO of HomeServices of America, the real estate segment of the Berkshire-Hathaway family of companies. A former professional hockey player, Ron has worked his way through the real estate ranks to become a leading consolidator in the industry with a highly successful business model utilizing local brands and management talent. HomeServices now represents 20 local companies with over 400 offices nationwide, creating the second-largest real estate brokerage and the largest provider of settlement services in the United States.

Harley Rouda, Jr., CEO and managing partner of Real Living, Inc., helped make Real Living the fourth-largest residential real estate firm through his usage of the Web and an innovative approach to connecting brokers, sales associates and the public. A second-generation principal, Harley has a law degree and had developed his company through both acquisition and affiliates throughout Ohio and several other states.

J. Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate, in Seattle, was one of the first to utilize technological advances in real estate, incorporating into his firm virtual tours, IDX solutions and one-stop-shop business models. Philanthropically, Scott supports more than 19 children’s hospitals in the Pacific Northwest through the John L. Scott Foundation, and he headed an effort that raised more than $8 million for children’s healthcare in 2005. He has built the company founded by his grandfather to become one of the largest 10 in the country with annual sales of nearly $10 billion.

Jim Weichert proved that independent brokerages can compete with national franchises when he launched Weichert Real Estate Affiliates, a nationwide franchise of independent real estate brokerages that was named one of the ?Top 10 New Franchises of 2005? by Entrepreneur Magazine. As founder and president of Weichert, the Mid-Atlantic brokerage, Jim Weichert has built up his firm, which he founded in 1969, to 18,300 sales associates and 450 company-owned and franchise offices.

For more information, visit Leading Real Estate Companies of the World.

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