COVER FEATURE: TOP 100 COMPANIES
Big brokers ride sales wave

BY SARA PULLAN GEIMER

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Does it get any better than this? Even as the country was riding out a recession, sales of existing single-family homes set a new record of 5.25 million in 2001, up 2.7 percent from 2000, and edging past the previous record of 5.21 million set in 1999.

The country’s biggest residential brokerages are benefiting from the continued health and stability of the real estate market, REALTOR^® Magazine’s third annual “Top 100 Companies” survey shows.

More than 70 percent of the Top 100 reported increases in their transaction sides from 2000 to 2001. Nearly 90 percent reported an increase in sales volume—a testament to enduring high appreciation rates in many parts of the country. Fully two-thirds of the 28 companies that closed fewer sides in 2001 increased their volume anyway.

Scan the list and you’ll see that more than half of the companies are operating as major franchise brands, up slightly from last year. Prudential claims the most Top 100 companies with 16; Coldwell Banker follows closely with 13. RE/MAX has nine; Century 21 has five; and Keller Williams, Realty Executives, and GMAC each have three. Many of the largest franchise offices around the country are part of the family of No. 1 NRT Inc., of Parsippany, N.J., and most of NRT’s offices operate under the Coldwell Banker brand.

This year’s list proves that the big get bigger. The two top companies, NRT and HomeServices of America Inc. (formerly HomeServices.com), of Edina, Minn., grew 13 percent and 22 percent respectively, based on their transaction sides closed. Not surprisingly, much of the growth among this year’s Top 100 resulted from acquisitions. Behemoth NRT Inc. added 87 offices, buying high-profile companies such as Gundaker, REALTOR^®, in St. Louis, which was No. 14 last year.

Of course, the list represents a snapshot in time. Since the information was reported, consolidation has continued apace. Post-2001 mergers—most notably NRT’s purchase of No. 5 Arvida and HomeServices’ buyout of No. 6 Prudential California Realty—are noted in small type within the list.

HomeServices President and CEO Ronald J. Peltier and Prudential California Realty CEO Stephen Games (page 34) talk about what it’s like to complete one of the largest mergers in industry history—and where HomeServices goes from here. In addition, we’ll take you inside the fastest-growing company on the list, Coldwell Banker Legacy of Albuquerque, N.M. (page 38), and the most productive per sales associate, The Group Inc. Real Estate in Ft. Collins, Colo. (page 40).

Read on to see what these top brokers are doing to stay profitable and keep the real estate industry soaring over the bumpy economy.

—Sara Pullan Geimer

Methodology: In January, REALTOR^® Magazine mailed questionnaires to approximately 300 real estate companies whose past records had established them as high-production companies. We followed up with phone calls and faxes to achieve a response rate of more than 70 percent. To help confirm the accuracy of the information the companies supplied, we required third parties, such as auditors, to verify key data. Those companies that didn’t respond or comply with our requirements weren’t considered for this report.

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To see a ranking of all survey respondents, visit the Current Links at our Web site, REALTOR.org/realtormag.

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TOP 100 COMPANIES: ranked by transaction sides
Rank	Company Location	Top officer(s)	Founded	No. of salespeople	Transaction sides closed		Sales volume (in millions)		Per salesperson (2001)
					2001	% change from 2000	2001	% change from 2000	Transaction sides closed	Sales Volume (in millions)
1	NRT Inc., Parsippany, N.J.	Robert M. Becker	1997	41,500	$397,049	12.94	$117,119.00	10.81	9.57	$2.82
2	HomeServices of America Inc., Edina, Minn. Formerly HomeServices.com	Ronald J. Peltier	1998	8,724	106,740	22.14	18,379.79	28.85	12.24	2.11
3	Weichert, REALTORS®, Morris Plains, N.J.	James M. Weichert	1969	8,000	85,500	6.18	19,500.00	5.98	10.69	2.44
4	Long & Foster Real Estate Inc., Fairfax, Va.	P. Wesley Foster Jr.	1968	7,997	83,747	13.20	18,496.52	30.07	10.47	2.31
5	Arvida Realty Services, Clearwater, Fla. Purchased by NRT, April 2002	Richard W. Cope	1990	3,766	40,377	4.05	8,595.00	4.47	10.72	2.28
6	Prudential California Realty/Americana Realty, San Diego Purchased by HomeServices, March 2002	Stephen C. Games	1985	3,500	37,413	-2.83	13,385.32	4.31	10.69	3.82
7	Realty Executives, Phoenix	Richard A. Rector	1965	1,200	30,000	5.26	4,600.00	6.98	25.00	3.83
8	GMAC HomeServices Inc., Warren, N.J. dba GMAC RealEstate	John Bearden	1998	2,971	29,148	-8.11	11,246.00	-9.61	9.81	3.79
9	Prudential Fox & Roach, REALTORS®, Devon, Penn.	Lawrence F. Flick IV	1886	2,583	27,863	-2.64	6,492.15	4.31	10.79	2.51
10	The DeWolfe Companies Inc., Lexington, Mass.	Richard B. DeWolfe	1949	2,524	25,898	-0.09	6,629.77	8.88	10.26	2.63
11	John L. Scott Real Estate, Bellevue, Wash.	J. Lennox Scott	1931	1,421	22,832	0.88	$5,052.71	1.97	16.07	$3.56
12	Crye-Leike Inc., Memphis, Tenn.	Harold Crye	1977	2,124	20,631	1.10	2,950.00	0.79	9.71	1.39
13	Realty One, Cleveland Formed Real Living Inc. in merger with HER, REALTORS®, and Huff Realty, February 2002	Barbara A. Reynolds	1953	1,484	8,933	-0.01	3,017.75	1.78	12.76	2.03
14	Greater Atlanta Brokerage Solutions LLC, dba RE/MAX Greater Atlanta	Lee A. Finch	1979	1,000	8,897	4.95	4,199.43	12.59	18.90	4.20
15	West USA Realty Inc., Phoenix	Clay Fouts	1986	1,321	7,909	10.25	2,500.00	12.87	13.56	1.89
16	Coldwell Banker Richard Smith Co., Bryan, Texas	Richard Smith	1970	1,259	7,707	37.48	2,924.89	51.67	14.06	2.32
17	Ebby Halliday, REALTORS®, Dallas	Mary Frances Burleson	1945	1,228	7,251	-3.30	3,557.18	-4.57	14.05	2.90
18	Coldwell Banker Success Realty, Scottsdale, Ariz.	Robert McCord	1992	2,000	15,781	19.55	3,200.00	18.52	7.89	1.60
19	Real Estate One Inc., Farmington Hills, Mich.	Richard S. Elsea	1929	1,525	15,049	1.58	2,842.22	5.12	9.87	1.86
20	Baird & Warner, Chicago	Stephen W. Baird	1855	1,200	14,931	-8.38	4,100.00	0.00	12.44	3.42
21	Coldwell Banker Bain Associates/Barbara Sue Seal Properties, Bellevue, Wash.	William Riss	1973	1,200	14,796	10.44	4,102.50	1.55	12.33	3.42
22	Allen Tate Co., Charlotte, N.C.	Allen Tate, Pat Riley	1957	795	14,420	1.39	3,167.44	6.62	18.14	3.98
23	Realty USA, Orchard Park, N.Y.	Merle L. Whitehead	1962	1,095	14,381	16.00	1,566.56	19.49	13.13	1.43
24	Watson Realty Corp., Jacksonville, Fla.	William A. Watson Jr.	1965	1,111	14,107	-8.77	1,959.51	7.40	12.70	1.76
25	Smythe, Cramer Co., Cleveland	Lucius B. McKelvey	1903	976	13,334	0.15	2,438.24	1.28	13.66	2.50
26	RE/MAX Equity Group Inc., Portland, Ore.	James C. Homolka	1984	785	13,233	24.56	2,721.04	20.79	16.86	3.47
27	Howard Hanna Co., Pittsburgh	Howard W. Hanna III	1957	1,242	13,144	4.97	1,974.86	5.99	10.58	1.59
28	RE/MAX Alliance, Arvada, Colo.	Chuck Ochsner	1978	625	12,998	-1.53	2,998.09	-0.06	20.80	4.80
29	JRHBW Inc., Birmingham, Ala. dba RealtySouth	Robert E. Reed	1955	1,090	12,930	17.24	2,004.38	13.04	11.86	1.84
30	The Keyes Co., REALTORS®, Miami	Michael L. Pappas	1926	1,150	11,272	1.31	1,526.80	8.67	9.80	1.33
31	Prudential Carolinas Realty, Winston-Salem, N.C.	Robert E. Helms	1980	706	11,105	-2.43	2,144.68	1.27	15.73	3.04
32	Coldwell Banker HomeSale Services Group, Lancaster, Penn.	Chris Poole/Doug Rebert /Pete Slaugh	1964	605	11,041	10.17	1,408.57	14.10	18.25	2.33
33	HER, REALTORS®, Columbus, Ohio Formed Real Living Inc. in merger with Realty One and Huff Realty, February 2002	Harley E. Rouda Jr.	1956	473	11,035	8.05	1,881.85	15.93	23.33	3.98
34	Mason-McDuffie Real Estate Inc., Pleasanton, Calif. dba Prudential California, Nevada, Texas	A. David Cobo	1887	1,885	10,640	-12.33	3,719.04	-7.94	5.64	1.97
35	Prudential Connecticut Realty, Rocky Hill, Conn.	Peter G. Helie	1989	1,032	10,621	1.67	3,045.00	3.66	10.29	2.95
36	Shorewest Inc., REALTORS®, Brookfield, Wis.	John E. Horning	1946	589	10,317	6.47	1,644.51	10.09	17.52	2.79
37	Coldwell Banker Stevens, REALTORS®, Vienna, Va. Purchased by NRT, March 2002	Thomas M. Stevens	1993	1,533	10,262	9.59	2,510.65	24.93	6.69	1.64
38	Sibcy Cline Inc., Cincinnati	Robert N. Sibcy	1956	1,001	10,257	8.37	1,771.08	9.27	10.25	1.77
39	Latter & Blum Inc., REALTOR®, New Orleans	Robert W. Merrick	1916	922	9,573	-1.50	1,369.88	3.58	10.38	1.49
40	First Team Real Estate, Costa Mesa, Calif.	Cameron Merage	1975	1,219	9,545	3.85	3,300.60	10.02	7.83	2.71
41	Metro Brokers/GMAC Real Estate, Atlanta	Kevin Levent	1979	1,100	9,445	10.79	$1,527.21	17.24	8.59	$1.39
42	G.B.S. Properties, Metairie, La. dba Prudential Gardner, REALTORS®	Glenn Gardner/ Barbara Blades /Norris J. Songe Jr.	1943	1,260	8,962	-3.27	1,236.00	-2.43	7.11	0.98
43	Harry Norman, REALTORS®, Atlanta	J. Lewis Glenn	1930	920	8,947	2.93	2,860.34	3.77	9.73	3.11
44	William E. Wood & Assoc., Virginia Beach, Va.	Richard B. Thurmond	1972	485	8,897	16.41	1,405.42	29.89	18.34	2.90
45	Century 21 Town & Country, Sterling Heights, Mich.	John R. Kersten	1980	700	8,807	-4.42	1,695.84	3.03	12.58	2.42
46	F.C. Tucker Co. Inc., Indianapolis	H. James Litten	1918	512	8,758	6.49	1,592.82	7.14	17.11	3.11
47	Coldwell Banker Legacy, Albuquerque, N.M.	Joe E. Gilmore/Peter Parnegg/ Michael Carter	1955	444	8,670	43.00	1,311.77	36.35	19.53	2.95
48	William Raveis Real Estate Inc., Shelton, Conn.	William M. Raveis Jr.	1974	1,111	8,500	-6.59	2,800.00	7.69	7.65	2.52
49	RE/MAX Results, Eden Prairie, Minn.	Bill Saunders,  John Collopy	1986	281	8,452	6.50	1,792.46	19.19	30.08	6.38
50	Fonville Morisey Realty Inc., Raleigh, N.C.	John C. Morisey Jr.	1973	520	8,330	9.23	1,754.64	11.95	16.02	3.37
51	John Hall & Associates Inc., Phoenix	James J. Sexton	1974	728	8,237	6.39	1,395.00	9.24	11.31	1.92
52	Nothnagle, REALTORS®, Rochester, N.Y.	Philip R. Nothnagle	1948	440	8,019	-2.33	826.38	5.07	18.23	1.88
53	Prudential Gary Greene, RealtorS®, Houston	Marilyn Eiland	2000	707	7,910	-0.40	1,329.56	1.90	11.19	1.88
54	Prudential Atlanta/Georgia Realty, Roswell, Ga.	Daniel T. Forsman	1964	857	7,859	1.12	1,603.69	4.21	9.17	1.87
55	Prudential Carolina Real Estate, Charleston, S.C.	Michael O’Shaughnessy	1965	554	7,781	-3.22	1,273.24	1.35	14.05	2.30
56	William L. Lyon & Associates Inc., Sacramento, Calif.	Michael P. Lyon	1946	528	7,716	-9.00	1,900.06	3.03	14.61	3.60
57	Prudential Northwest Properties, Beaverton, Ore.	Bert Waugh Jr.	1955	530	7,500	4.18	1,388.60	8.00	14.15	2.62
58	Keller Williams Realty North Texas/New Mexico, Dallas	David Osborn	1992	651	7,360	25.30	1,400.60	24.30	11.31	2.15
59	Coldwell Banker Howard Perry & Walston Realty Inc., Raleigh, N.C.	Donald Walston	1973	491	7,311	-10.36	1,494.59	-0.68	14.89	3.04
60	Carpenter GMAC Real Estate, Indianapolis	Thomas G. Prall	1970	628	7,092	12.64	830.00	13.91	11.29	1.32
61	Alain Pinel Inc., REALTORS®, Saratoga, Calif.	Paul L. Hulme	1990	853	6,924	-10.43	5,300.00	-29.33	8.12	6.21
62	Hunt Real Estate Corp., Williamsville, N.Y.	Peter F. Hunt	1911	500	6,828	8.02	751.23	19.86	13.66	1.50
63	Prudential Florida WCI Realty, Plantation, Fla.	Roger A. Herman	1999	1,067	6,552	30.15	1,570.00	48.53	6.14	1.47
64	Counselor Realty Inc., Spring Lake Park, Minn.	Ken Kunzman	1964	412	6,473	35.99	1,208.27	41.48	15.7	2.93
65	Keller Williams Inc., Austin, Texasdba Keller Williams Realty	Mo Anderson	1983	11,600	6,396	5.37	1,116.29	10.47	10.42	1.82
66	Century 21 Award (Award Inc.), San Diego	Rick Jorgensen	1969	712	6,372	-17.15	1,572.89	-3.72	8.95	2.21
67	Coldwell Banker Devonshire Realty, Champaign, Ill.	Tom Harrington	1977	370	6,363	33.51	681.40	15.49	17.20	1.84
68	Rose and Womble Realty Co. LLC, Virginia Beach, Va.	Jimmy V. Rose Sr.	1963	400	6,345	14.74	1,030.61	35.57	15.86	2.58
69	Century 21 Alliance, Havertown, Penn.	Paul J. Gallagher	1998	610	6,340	8.25	944.68	19.00	10.39	1.55
70	Century 21 Realty Group Cos., Indianapolis	Kevin K. Kirkpatrick	1980	411	6,339	2.94	918.14	8.02	15.42	2.23
71	Coldwell Banker Flouhouse/ Tom Jenkins Realty, Charlotte, N.C.	C. Keith Flouhouse	1984	624	6,247	1.20	$1,048.97	3.45	10.01	$1.68
72	Keller Williams Realty, Englewood, Colo.	Richard M. McCarthy	1993	879	6,232	11.41	1,223.16	14.11	7.09	1.39
73	The Group Inc., Real Estate, Fort Collins, Colo.	Sharianne Daily	1976	187	6,230	16.06	1,313.42	25.33	33.32	7.02
74	Coldwell Banker Roth Wehrly Graber, Fort Wayne, Ind.	John Bellio	1971	370	6,196	-6.01	606.00	-6.05	16.75	1.64
75	Bob Parks Realty, Murfreesboro, Tenn.	Bob Parks	1975	425	6,149	19.51	915.08	19.55	14.47	2.15
76	Schweitzer Real Estate Inc., Sterling Heights, Mich. dba Coldwell Banker Schweitzer Real Estate	Paul R. Schweitzer	1962	593	5,878	0.38	1,247.23	4.87	9.91	2.10
77	Huff Realty Inc., Florence, Ky. Formed Real Living Inc. in merger with Realty One and HER, RealtorS®, February 2002	Scott Schilling	1975	575	5,795	16.48	790.00	17.91	10.08	1.37
78	RE/MAX Partners, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.	Larry Revier	1991	311	5,774	11.70	1,004.25	18.24	18.57	3.23
79	Prudential Preferred Realty, Pittsburgh	Ronald F. Croushore	1990	520	5,770	-8.12	911.39	-6.09	11.10	1.75
80	Tomlinson Black Group of Cos., Coeur d’Alene, Idaho	Robert Tomlinson	1948	325	5,744	19.00	668.95	19.11	17.67	2.06
81	Century 21 Judge Fite Co., Dallas	James R. Fite	1937	442	5,732	24.91	674.97	35.06	12.97	1.53
82	Beazley Co., New Haven, Conn.	Gregory O. Scott	1931	425	5,716	-4.11	929.43	21.87	13.45	2.19
83	B&H Associates, South Huntington, N.Y. dba Prudential Long Island Realty	Dorothy Herman	1990	1,085	5,639	0.95	1,621.03	11.26	5.20	1.49
84	Prudential Jack White/Vista Real Estate,  Anchorage, Alaska	Richard Fuller/Barbara Huntley	1977	366	5,564	32.07	967.02	41.16	15.20	2.64
85	Jack Conway & Co. Inc., Norwell, Mass.	John E. "Jack" Conway	1957	589	5,540	15.15	1,166.17	30.23	9.41	1.98
86	Prudential New Jersey Properties, East Brunswick, N.J.	William O. Keleher Jr.	1990	535	5,533	-1.06	1,571.33	7.76	10.34	2.94
87	First Weber Group, Madison, Wis.	James R. Imhoff Jr.	1971	320	5,518	13.59	875.50	22.02	17.24	2.74
88	Mel Foster Co. Inc., Davenport, Iowa	Robert C. Fick	1921	360	5,490	1.61	593.90	4.25	15.25	1.65
89	Patterson-Schwartz Real Estate, Hockessin, Del.	Richard T. Christopher	1961	261	5,467	-4.14	1,108.96	4.84	20.95	4.25
90	Realty Executives of Nevada, Las Vegas	Frances E. Moore	1989	317	5,453	21.56	1,007.25	23.52	17.20	3.18
91	RE/MAX Beach Cities/Westside Properties, Manhattan Beach, Calif.	Kelli Amundson	1982	530	5,402	-0.07	2,088.44	1.86	10.19	3.94
92	Greenridge Realty Inc., Grand Rapids, Mich.	Thomas P. Paarlberg	1980	404	5,330	4.72	727.92	7.17	13.19	1.80
93	Home Real Estate, Lincoln, Neb.	Thomas Schleich	1938	300	5,307	12.84	612.93	15.18	17.69	2.04
94	Real Estate United LLC, Raleigh, N.C. dba RE/MAX United	Hal Perry/Bill Owens/ Lynn Britt/Kathy Baker	2001	253	5,249	NA	918.21	NA	20.75	3.63
95	Coldwell Banker The Real Estate Group Inc., Appleton, Wis.	Joyce Bytof	1960	249	5,172	4.70	629.45	9.30	20.77	2.53
96	RE/MAX Suburban, Mt. Prospect, Ill.	James R. Nelsen, Robert Baker	1978	227	5,162	8.79	1,195.16	20.13	22.74	5.27
97	Prudential Carruthers, Realtors®, Severna Park, Md.	J. Thomas Carruthers Jr.	1995	523	5,115	4.20	1,121.68	11.91	9.78	2.14
98	Norcal Gold Inc., Sacramento, Calif. dba RE/MAX Gold Real Estate	James O’Bryon	1994	350	5,077	18.90	1,081.86	37.48	14.51	3.09
99	Realty Executives Associates, Realtors®, Knoxville, Tenn.	R. Vance Burkey	1962	210	5,019	9.54	724.65	8.15	23.90	3.45
100	Coldwell Banker Prime Properties Inc., Albany, N.Y.	Kenneth M. Raymond Jr.	1986	268	5,018	10.99	611.06	11.24	18.72	2.28

TOP COMPANIES RANKED BY... (Number in parentheses indicates rank by transaction sides.) FASTEST GROWING*
1	Coldwell Banker Legacy (47)	43.00
2	Coldwell Banker Richard Smith Co. (16)	37.48
3	Counselor Realty Inc. (64)	35.99
4	Coldwell Banker Devonshire Realty (67)	33.51
5	Prudential Jack White/Vista Real Estate (84)	32.07
6	Prudential Florida WCI Realty (63)	30.15
7	Keller Williams Realty North Texas/New Mexico (58)	25.30
8	Century 21 Judge Fite Co. (81)	24.91
9	RE/MAX Equity Group Inc. (26)	24.56
10	HomeServices of America Inc. (2)	22.14

*Percent change in transaction sides closed between 2000 and 2001.

SALES VOLUME (in millions)
1	NRT Inc. (1)	$117,119.00
2	Weichert, Realtors® (3)	19,500.00
3	Long & Foster Real Estate Inc. (4)	18,496.52
4	HomeServices of America Inc. (2)	18,379.79
5	Prudential California Realty/Americana Realty (6) Purchased by HomeServices.com, March 2002	13,385.32
6	GMAC HomeServices Inc. (8) dba GMAC RealEstate	11,245.99
7	Arvida Realty Services (5) Purchased by NRT, April 2002	8,595.00
8	The DeWolfe Companies Inc. (10)	6,629.77
9	Prudential Fox & Roach, Realtors® (9)	6,492.15
10	Alain Pinel Inc., Realtors® (61)	5,300.00

SALES VOLUME PER SALESPERSON (in millions)
1	The Group Inc., Real Estate (73)	$7.02
2	RE/MAX Results (49)	6.38
3	Alain Pinel Inc., Realtors® (61)	6.21
4	RE/MAX Suburban (96)	5.27
5	RE/MAX Alliance (28)	4.80
6	Patterson-Schwartz Real Estate (89)	4.25
7	Greater Atlanta Brokerage Solutions LLC (14) dba RE/MAX Greater Atlanta	4.20
8	Allen Tate Co. (22)*	3.98
9	HER, Realtors® (33)* Formed Real Living Inc. in merger with Realty One and Huff Realty, February 2002	3.98
10	RE/MAX Beach Cities/Westside Properties (91) *Allen Tate edged out HER, but the numbers look equal due to rounding.	3.94

AVERAGE SIDES CLOSED PER SALESPERSON
1	The Group Inc., Real Estate (73)	33.32
2	RE/MAX Results (49)	30.08
3	Realty Executives (7)	25.00
4	Realty Executives Associates, Realtors® (99)	23.90
5	HER, Realtors® (33)Formed Real Living Inc. in merger with Realty One and Huff Realty, February 2002	23.33
6	RE/MAX Suburban (96)	22.74
7	Patterson-Schwartz Real Estate (89)	20.95
8	RE/MAX Alliance (28)	20.80
9	Coldwell Banker The Real Estate Group Inc. (95)	20.77
10	Real Estate United, LLC (94)dba RE/MAX United	20.75

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