Top real estate brokerages in Massachusetts are celebrating the fact that they were named to RealTrends annual list of the top 500 brokers in the country, but none are resting on their laurels for long. Instead, they’re using the rankings as a mark they want to surpass next year, while keeping a close eye on their competitors.
According to the recently released survey of the 500 largest real estate companies, measured in terms of closed transaction sides in 1999, eight were based in the Bay State. That number is consistent with the number of Massachusetts companies named to the list last year, though some of the agencies differ.
Of all companies nationwide, NRT Inc. of Parasippany, N.J., took home top honors in number of transaction sides. NRT owns several franchise names, including Century 21 and Coldwell Banker. The only Massachusetts-based company to make it on the list among the top 100 landed squarely in the top 10.
Lexington-based The DeWolfe Cos., which last year was ranked 11th by RealTrends, this year muscled its way into the number nine position. DeWolfe earned its rank with 26,196 closed transaction sides among its 101 New England offices, according to RealTrends.
Jack Conway & Co., based in Norwell, was the next highest local company on the list, appearing in the 103rd position. Re/Max First Choice Real Estate, based in Northborough, followed at 168. The Prudential Prime Properties group, based in Marlborough, was next at 176.
Following Prudential was Chestnut Hill-based Hammond Residential Real Estate at 273. At the time, Hammond was independently owned and operated. In March of this year, it was acquired by Liberty Corner, N.J.-based GMAC Real Estate, formerly Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate.
Re/Max Preferred in Methuen was in the 354th position, followed by Re/Max Landmark in Stoughton at 364. Finally, the Realty Executives of Cape Cod offices, based in Hyannis, came in at 467.
“It’s good to be in the top 500 in RealTrends, but what I’m more proud of is being number one among the Re/Max agencies in Massachusetts and all of New England,” said Margie Richard, broker of Re/Max First Choice.
“We’ve had a good run. The economy has been good to us,” said Jack Conway of Jack Conway & Co. Conway moved up from last year, when RealTrends placed it in the 125th spot. “My goal would be to be higher, but we’re not doing too bad.”
Conway noted that with the exception of William Raveis Real Estate of Shelton, Conn., his company was the top privately owned independent agency in New England, as well as tops in Massachusetts.
“DeWolfe did a good job, growing and acquiring other companies,” said Conway. “Dick DeWolfe has a good company, and he’s a good friend of mine, but it’s a publicly held company. We’re the largest independent company. [The company] is owned by me, there are no stockholders, and we work as a team. That’s what makes us different.”
Paul J. Harrington, who heads DeWolfe’s real estate division, said company officials were pleased by the RealTrends results. “We’re proud of the fact that every year we’ve increased our standing compared to other companies throughout the country. We’re not just getting larger for the sake of being larger, but we’re looking at what we can accomplish by growing, and we’re proud of the fact that by far we’re the largest in New England. When you look at independently owned companies, and you take out Coldwell Banker Hunneman, we’re twice the size of the next largest independent company in New England.”
Smaller Firms
Though the Greater Boston area is considered by many to be one of the hottest real estate markets in the country, the number of Bay State companies making the top 500 list remains in the single digits at eight, representing just 1.6 percent of the total. But those in the industry warn that the low percentage is deceiving.
“We’re a smaller state,” Conway said. “We’ve only got five million people. We’re not the fastest-growing state; we maintain a moderate growth. We’re not going to be competing with the behemoths that are Florida, California and the whole Southwest, and the number of [Massachusetts] companies on the list is reflective of that.”
“We’re in a very fragmented market area,” Harrington said. “Other than a few larger firms, business in the area is spread among a large number of smaller firms.” Having that many smaller firms to compete with in individual markets keeps larger firms like DeWolfe on their toes, even if they have the power to acquire offices to increase their market share.
“I think consolidation is a good thing for the consumer as long as no one becomes so dominant that there’s no competition, and we’re far from that,” he said. “Even without size, there’s lots of competition in every market, and that forces us to the resources we have to provide better service for the customer.”
The trend toward consolidation is reflected in the rankings. Two of the eight offices that made the top 500 last year no longer appear because larger companies have acquired them. In addition to Hammond’s acquisition by GMAC, Springfield-based Stearns & Yerrall – ranked 434th last year – was also bought by GMAC. And other larger, well-known and once-independent operations like Carlson Real Estate in Woburn and Bay Village and Kinlin Grover on Cape Cod have also been acquired by GMAC.
“There’s no question that’s happening, from the top of the list down,” Harrington observed. “They’ve taken a lot off the list over the years. Especially when you get to the second hundred and the third hundred on the list, you see a lot of consolidation, and that trend will continue.”
While there continued to be a number of companies removed from the list annually, those on there now are maintaining focus of keeping themselves on the list next year, and for years to come.
“I’m making sure my agents know how to find and develop business,” Richard said. Though she boasts her agents are tops in the industry, Richard said some of the success can be attributed to the hot market, where homebuyers are “knocking down our doors” looking to buy a home. That high tide in the market eventually is bound to ebb, and she wants to make sure her agents are ready. “They have to be reminded sometimes that they have to get out there and find prospects and make contacts. A lot of agents are losing sight of that these days.”
“We’re the first company to put together a computer lab to train people, and we’re getting agents taking computer courses and e-mail courses,” Conway said. He added that computer training alone wouldn’t cut it. “The one thing that bothers me is people are getting carried away with computers and they’re not driving around the neighborhoods like they used to. If I call and ask about a house, an agent will say, ‘Well, let me pull it up on the computer.’ That’s what bothers me. I want to know if you’ve driven out and actually seen the house and if it’s worth what they’re asking for it.
“As long as we keep our agents working and enthusiastic, we’re going to do well,” he continued. “We run a happy ship here. We have a couple of drinks at five o’clock, and we don’t take life too seriously.”
