Swanepoel Releases Comprehensive Ranking of Industry Leaders
The Swanepoel Power 200 (SP200) released this past week is one of the most comprehensive lists of influential CEOs, thought-leaders and senior executives ever assembled in the residential real estate brokerage business. Stefan Swanepoel, creator of the report, is widely recognized as a leading visionary on real estate trends and well-known for his annual Swanepoel TRENDS Report and Swanepoel TECHNOLOGY Report. For the first time, SP200 is a meticulous analysis of its kind, ranking over 200 of the most powerful and influential leaders in the residential real estate industry. Included in the list is RISMedia’s CEO and Publisher, John Featherston. To see the full list, click here.
According to the report, topping the SP200 is Realogy’s CEO, Richard A. Smith. “Smith, the Chairman, CEO and President of Realogy, is our selection as the Most Powerful Person in residential real estate brokerage for 2013. While there are others who have higher personal profiles, within the industry there is no doubt that none have more power and influence in almost every aspect of real estate than Smith.” Realogy owns half of the top 10 brands in the industry: Coldwell Banker Century 21, Sotheby’s International Realty, ERA and Better Homes and Gardens. With approximately 13,600 franchised and company-owned offices and over 240,000 brokers and agents worldwide, Realogy touches one out of every four home sales in America. “And that’s dominance,” Swanepoel says.
Ranked second Most Powerful Person in Real Estate is Ron J. Peltier, the man atop the HomeServices of America (a Berkshire Hathaway company) conglomerate. During the last 15 months HomeServices of America orchestrated the biggest acquisition in the industry in recent times, grabbing two top 10 franchise networks at the same time—Prudential and Real Living. This led to a dazzling rebranding plan and the launch of a significant national new brand, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. Spencer Rascoff, CEO of Zillow, one of the 1,000 largest websites in the world and with over 50 million unique visits per month, also the largest real estate website in the world, is listed third.
According to Rob Hahn, co-editor of the Swanepoel Power 200, the rankings are based on multiple criteria that take into account the individual’s personal influence, his/her tenure in the industry, the office he or she holds, the decision-making power of said office, the financial resources of the company or organization, the company or organization’s significance and contribution to the industry, the company’s geographic reach, and his or her recent activities, growth, and potential. Although everyone will have their own opinion, the SP200 stands as a milestone to help multidisciplinary industry participants.
As the list wrapped up on New Year’s Eve, Hahn added, “and as we look back on our own unresolved debates as to whom should rank where, we recognize that everyone’s input will be huge to help us build SP200 into the definitive list of all real estate’s movers and shakers.” He invites industry participants to join in the discussion at facebook.com/realestatetrends. “The discussion will be lots of fun. Trust us, we know from personal experience over the past few months,” he said.
The SP200 also ranks the “Power Players” in nine different categories including franchise executives, real estate brokers, educators, economists, technologists, media executives and association executives. Browsing through the list, many well-known names are featured prominently including Pete Flint (founder and CEO of Trulia), Dale Stinton (CEO of the National Association of REALTORS®), Robert Shiller (2013 Noble prize winner in Economics), and Tom Ferry (Life and New York Times bestselling author).
“The SP200 serves to identify those that influence, impact and lead the residential real estate brokerage industry,” Swanepoel said. “We acknowledge the huge contribution to our industry by the SP200 Power Players and thank them for their role in improving the home buying transaction.”
To see the full list, visit www.SP200.com.
