Stefan Swanepoel is best known for his engaging conference lectures and the running line of Swanepoel Trends Reports that has published since 2006. This year, Swanepoel partnered with Rob Hahn, Chris Nichols, Kelly Mitchell, Michael McClure, Susan Browne, Michael Krisa, and Shannon Musgrove to produce a new publication called the Swanepoel Power 200, The most Powerful People In Residential Real Estate in 2013.
These types of lists were made famous by Forbes Magazine, the publisher who releases 52 Top lists a year, including Rich Lists, Top Companies, People, Investing, Places, Sports, Technology, and Education. I spoke with Swanepoel for a few minutes on the eve of the publication to learn a little bit about the publication in advance of its debut. “The cornerstone of our selection process,” says Swanepoel, “is to define people who have the ability to make things happen. People who make decisions in large enterprises have significant personal influence, tenure in the industry, significant reach, or have created an industry impact through a recent activity.”
About the Publication
There is a one-page overview of the top three executives on the list, and a half page write up for all of those in the top 20. The other 180 individuals included are given a one-sentence overview. In truth, I cannot imagine the challenge of collecting all of these people then putting them in some type of order. But Swanepoel and his team did an admirable job.
91 of our good friends and customers made the list. WAV Group Congratulates:
(In no particular order – you will need to buy the book) Alan Tennant, John Mosey, Ty Doge, Paul Jackson, Krisstina Wise, Anne Bailey, Mike Brodie, Tom Hurdelbrink, Jeremy Conaway, Brian Larson, Constance Freedman, Craig Cheatham, Mike Fischer, Saul Klein, Gregg Larson, Mike Pappas, Rebecca Jensen, Matt Consalvo, Kathy Condon, Mat Ferrara, Jim Harrison, Brian Boero, Marc Davison, Mark Woodroof, Teresa King Kinney, Jay Gaskill, Any Rapattoni, Dan Forsman, Jim Litten, Merri Jo Cowen, Robert Merrick, John Featherston, Andy Woolley, Jon Coile, Lorne Wallace, Merle Whitehead, Mary Frances Burleson, Dan Parmer, Bev Thorne, Art Carter, Rob Sibcy, Rosey Koberlein, Pat Riley, William Raveis, Russ Bergeron, Saul Cohen, Nancy Seaman, Glenn Shimkus, Joe Horning, Steve Murray, Bob Peltier, Allen Tate, Steve Ozonian, Mark McLaughlin, Steve Baird, Ed Krafchow, Bob Moles, Dan and Stu art Elsea, Austin Allision, Ian Morris, Joan Docktor, Mark Lesswing, Hoddy Hanna (and Hoby, Helen, Annie, and the rest of the Hanna Family), Curt Beardsley, Richard Smith, Gino Blefari, Dale Ross, Laurie Janik, Harold Crye, David Charron, Greg Schwartz, Brad Inman, Lennox Scott, Joel Singer, Bob Goldberg, Jeff Detwiler, Charlie Young, Pam O’Connor, Dottie Herman, Bob Hale, Sherry Chris, Glenn Kelman, Jim Weichert, Errol Samuelson, Bob Moline, Rick Davidson, Earl Lee, Budge Huskey, Dale Stinton, Alex Perriello, Ron and Bob Peltier.
Press Release
January 9, 2014 Orange County, CA. The Swanepoel Power 200 (SP200) is the most comprehensive list of influential CEOs, Thought Leaders and Senior Executives ever assembled in the residential real estate brokerage business. Stefan Swanepoel is widely recognized as the 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.
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 lot’s 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), Brad Inman, (Founder and Publisher) of INMAN News and Tom Ferry (Life and New York Times bestselling author). For details on all the rankings visit www.SP200.com
“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.”
