Episode summary
The companies moving up the RealTrends Verified rankings
HousingWire Daily
· · Hosts: Sarah Wheeler · Guests: Tracey Velt
Summary
Tracey Velt says the biggest story in the 2025 RealTrends Verified rankings is not the top four, which remain stable, but the fast movers in the middle of the list. She points to LPT Realty, which jumped from number 10 to number 7 in transaction sides, and to Epic or Epique, which also surged into the top 15. She also notes that Real brokerage continues to grow and that its CEO, Tamir Poleg, says the company is nowhere near its ceiling.
On the brand side, Velt says Keller Williams remains the clear leader, but Leading RE moved up from number five to number three. She argues that independent brokerages gained nearly 2% market share even amid industry consolidation, and says brokers see that as proof that local strategy and hyper-local value propositions still matter. The rankings included 1,267 firms that met the threshold of at least 500 transaction sides or $350 million in sales volume, totaling 2.24 trillion in volume and 3.94 million transactions.
The conversation also returns to private listings, where Velt says the core fight is about whether consumers should get full disclosure and broad MLS exposure or a more controlled pre-marketing approach. She says Compass’s in-house strategy has pushed the issue, while companies like eXp favor broader distribution. Velt adds that the lack of a standard disclosure process creates confusion for consumers and could invite legal risk.
Key takeaways
- Tracey Velt says the top four brokerages in RealTrends Verified remain stable, but the biggest movement is coming from firms ranked fifth through 10th.
- LPT Realty jumped from number 10 to number 7 in transaction sides, and Velt says its model is built around teams and agent choice.
- Leading RE moved from number five to number three among brands, while independents gained almost 2% market share.
- Velt says the rankings included 1,267 firms, with a minimum threshold of 500 transaction sides or $350 million in sales volume.
- On private listings, Velt says the industry still lacks a standard way to explain the tradeoffs to sellers, which creates consumer confusion and legal risk.
Notable quotes
“the top four spots are pretty secure at this point. We've noticed that they really haven't changed in a while”
“LPT Realty, they jumped from number seven to our number 10 to number seven in transaction sides”
“Keller Williams is the clear number one behind all of the independents”
“We had 1,267 firms that met the standards”
“I think most brokers This all really started because Compass has developed this three-pronged marketing idea”
How the episode opens
Welcome everyone. My guest today is Tracey Belt, our real estate editor, to talk about the companies moving up the list in the Real Trends Verified rankings and the latest on private listings. Before we start, I want to thank our sponsor Total Expert for making this episode possible.
Tracey, welcome back to the podcast. Thanks for having me. It's been a while.
It has been a while. You know, you're busy doing your own podcast plus running a whole team of real estate reporters and editors. So, you know, kind of busy.
Exactly. Well, let's talk about it. So, last week we released the Real Trends Verified rankings for uh 2025, right?
Listing all of that. So, that was pretty a great list and a lot of stories came out of that. So, I wanted to talk to you about what stood out to you this year when you looked at who took the top, you know, just just in general, what stood out to you?
Well, the top four spots are pretty secure at this point. We've noticed that they really haven't changed in a while. That's EXP Anywhere, Advisors, Compass, Home Services of America.
Those four are by transaction sides and volume have tended to be the fab four at the top of the rankings. But, I think the real story is maybe that the next the fifth, sixth, seventh through 10th. Um what we've noticed is a couple of very fast-growing brokerages.
We highlighted one last year and and actually the CEO Robert Palmer will be speaking at the gathering this month. But, LPT Realty, they jumped from number seven to our number 10 to number seven in transaction sides. They have been talking about going public.
They've made a real push for teams and the future they you know, really feel the future of the brokerage is teams.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- real estate brokerage rankings
- realtrends verified
- private listings
- brokerage performance
- top broker rankings
Companies and tickers mentioned
- RealTrends
Watch the episode
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Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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