Residential Real Estate Firms List: Home sales in 2022 down slightly amid interest rate challenges
Two-thirds of the firms on the list had lower sales volume in 2022 than in 2021, with a total combined home sales volume drop of 2%.
Real estate agents' jobs got a lot harder in 2022. A series of rate hikes, coupled with inflationary pressures on both buyers and sellers, led to a slowing down of the market compared to the brisk pace of the post-lockdown period that lasted from spring 2020 through spring 2022.
This led to a general downward pressure on most companies.
The top two firms in the area remained unchanged. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Preferred Realty edged out No. Howard Hanna Real Estate Services Inc. is ranked second, with a difference of about 2% between their total volume of homes sold by 2022. Berkshire and Hanna are both at the bottom of the list. In the last four years of Lists, Berkshire and Hanna have flopped at No. The Lists for the last four years have ranked No.
Coldwell Banker Realty, RE/MAX Select Realty and Coldwell Banker Realty retained their No. Coldwell Banker Realty and RE/MAX Select Realty remained No. List No. 4
Compass Real Estate, a fast-growing company, ranked No. Compass Real Estate ranked No. Between 2022 and 2023, Compass Real Estate grew from No. 10 to No. 5. The total sales increased by 2.5 times in this time span.
Seven of the 16 firms that were on The List and reported data from 2022 and 2023 saw home sales increase in 2023. Compass grew sales by 160%, the largest increase on The List. Other companies that increased sales in 2023 were No. 18 River Point Realty (+32%), No. Realty One Group Gold Standard (up 5%) is No. Piatt Sotheby's International Realty is No. 6 (up 4%). No. 10 eXp Real Estate LLC (up 3%) and No. Rubinoff Realty and Berkshire Realty both saw gains of 2%.
The overall sales volume of all firms reporting data in both years for the List was down by 2% across the region. The total home sales reported in 2022 by the firms on The List were just over 59,000. This is down from 62,000 in about 2021. That's a 5% drop.
High-end home sales in the region remained strong despite the challenges of rising interest rates. These sales were less affected by higher rates. Executives from some of the largest real estate agencies in the region said that 2022 would be a challenge. However, they are optimistic that the market will improve by the middle of the year or third quarter as the interest rates stabilise and buyers and seller accept the current market.
Most successful real estate agents in the region showed that 2022 was a challenge but also an opportunity to do more for their clients and close sales. Nearly 300 agents and teams in this region made the Who's Who in Residential Real Estate 2023 list, including agents/groups who had sold more than $10 million in homes in 2022. This was less than The Who's Who of 2022 which featured 322 agents/teams, but it was still the second most ever to be included in the publication.