Intro

This chapter examines the development of RealTrends' ranking system over thirty years, highlighting plans to expand and introduce city-level rankings. It also outlines criteria for team categorization and the verification process that upholds the rankings' integrity in the industry.

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Chat with the wisdom of every Team OS guest
Learn more about Unlock (November 2025 in Vegas)

Verified rankings of the top agents and teams in your city, state, or nation - that’s what RealTrends Verified works to produce every year.

Go inside the rankings to learn how they work. What’s the difference between an agent and a team (it’s not as easy as you might think)? What’s the difference between a large team and a mega team? How do you verify the results? Why would I participate?

Note: you may already be participating through your brokerage and, if you’re not, you have until April 9 to submit your 2024 results for inclusion.

Mark Adams, SVP of HousingWire Real Estate Group, is deeply involved in both Altos Research and RealTrends, and is here to break it all down for you. He also shares some benchmarks and trends they’re seeing in the size, productivity, and profitability of real estate teams.

Watch or listen for insights into:

- How an individual’s experience and success on a team are up to them

- What HW Media is (HousingWire, Altos Research, RealTrends) and how he became part of the team after 8 years in the mortgage industry

- The symbiotic relationship between real estate and mortgage

- The role of research and market intelligence in better decision making

- The purpose and background of the RealTrends rankings of brokerages (since 1997) and agents and teams (since 2006)

- How they plan to triple from the top 1.5% to the top 5% of agents and teams this year (from 21k to 60-70k) and how you can participate (by April 9, 2025)

- How they verify the results

- The two criteria the separate a team from an agent and the differences between small, medium, large, and mega teams

- The average team size, average units, and average volume of teams

- Adding city rankings to the national and state rankings

- Thoughts on units vs volume

- Benefits of being in the rankings (from SEO to recruiting)

- How building the operating system behind this project relates to building the operating system behind your real estate business

- The slingshot effect in many real estate teams right now

At the end, learn about Dallas Stars, European travel, and bookworm coworkers.

Participate in the 2025 rankings:
- https://www.realtrends.com/realtrends-submissions/

Episodes mentioned:

- Mike Simonsen: https://www.realestateteamos.com/episode/mike-simonsen-altos-research-real-time-data