Top 10 Real Estate Experts in 2021
Looking for an expert to plug some holes in your business? Need some guidance?
You no doubt already follow some of the top sites to stay on top of real estate tech news and trends. But you need something more!
Whether you are a single agent just starting out, a broker, or an executive, here are some of the top consulting and real estate technology trend gurus in our industry. I use “guru” with only love!
Most of these folks don’t have their own products (websites, CRMs, etc), but rather help match you to the best systems and strategies for you.
There is the list of top real estate experts:
- Breakthrough Broker
- RETI
- Paperless Agent
- InboundREM
- T3Sixty
- REAL Trends
- 7DS Associates
- Mike DelPrete
- WAV Group
- 1000Watt
Individual Agents and Teams
These are gurus and specialists with practical solutions and coaching for real estate agents and teams to implement into their businesses.
Breakthrough Broker
Breakthrough Broker is a large library of real estate resources, including mailers, open house sheets, how-tos, videos, reviews, marketing materials, local real estate infographics, and more.
Regular visitors are limited to only so many downloads per month. You can upgrade to a paid subscription called BB Plus with unlimited access, including to premium marketing material templates.
It was founded in 2011 by Eric Sachs and Nathan Froelich.
I especially recommend new agents check out their business plan resources which are top-notch.
The Real Estate Technology Institute (RETI)
Craig Grant bills himself as the Real Estate Tech Guru, and if you’ve had a chance to see him speak at a convention you know it’s true. His group at RETI have some great resources on technology. Their paid program includes a vault of technology product reviews, webinars, tech consultations, and more.
RETI may be one of the most thorough and practical sources for learning and implementing technology at the agent level.
You can get access to the full site for just $20/mo. For a deep dive, you can also get one-on-one coaching for $200-$400/mo.
Paperless Agent
An Austin Based company, the Paperless Agent is a joint venture between Garry Creath and Chris Scott. Their program seeks to help agents navigate the new digital world of real estate business.
In addition to their blog, they offer training on a variety of topics like Facebook marketing, digital marketing, and other programs that are broken up into training modules.
Their Facebook page features an astonishing 130,000+ likes and will feature their latest training webinar releases and marketing tips and tricks to dominate your local market.
InboundREM
Robert Newman is the founder of InboundREM (Real Estate Marketing) and an expert on real estate websites. His consulting is focused on website providers, different platforms, and search engine optimization (SEO) for lead generation.
His services are focused on one-on-one consultations regarding your website. He’s not a coach, but rather spends some time to help you choose the suite of tools and strategies to rank your site. Give his site a look if you are interested in sourcing buyers and sellers through organic Google results.
His site and Youtube channel feature numerous product reviews, as well.
Brokerages, Franchises, and Companies
These folks are worth knowing about as an agent or team, but their consultant services are oriented toward larger companies.
T3 Sixty
Stefan Swanepoel is at the epicenter of residential real estate research, rankings, and consulting. The Swanepoel Power 200 is an example, the coveted rankings of the most influential leaders and members of our industry.
Their real estate almanac is an annual report on the residential industry segments like MLSs, Technology, brokerages. They are prolific publishers, including the DANGER report, promising the “definitive analysis of negative game changers emerging in real estate”. You can get a free copy of older DANGER reports here.
You can put this knowledge to work in your enterprise by hiring them for management consulting, leadership development, or more. T3 Sixty pulls together real estate experts in every vertical to give businesses a holistic perspective on your business.
And, if you’re lucky, you might even get an invite to their exclusive T3 Summit, an invite-only conference for the who’s-who of residential real estate.
REAL Trends
I reference REAL Trends all the time for their rankings. They have the definitive list of the top agents, teams, and real estate firms in the country, by transaction volume and sides. They also publish regular content on the housing market and best practices.
REAL Trends are real estate consultants who offer a variety of services including a focus on M&A, assessing, valuing, and managing the sale of brokerage firms.
REAL Trends they also host multiple events, including the Gathering of Eagles conference targeting industry executives and C suite members, and the DealMAKERS conference.
Lastly, they have free research publications that are worth checking out, like this one titled “A Journey To Technology Perfection“.
They were acquired by HousingWire in 2020.
7DS Associates
7DS Associates is a consulting business by the Notorious Rob Hahn and his wife, Sunny.
If you don’t already follow Rob Hahn at his blog and his real estate industry podcast with Greg Robertson – do so! He also has a paid subscription report called the Red Dot that focuses on MLS, associations, and real estate technology vendors, and recently launched a VIP subscription for his site’s premium content.
His company 7DS Associates (short for the 7 Deadly Sins) consults directly with top real estate companies on the industry trends.
Rob is a regular and provocative guest contributor to Inman as well.
Mike DelPrete
Mike DelPrete” is a consultant on all things real estate tech, and has spoken at venues like Inman Connect. Mike is a must-follow maven in the industry.
His consulting focuses on strategy, insights, and warm handoffs to his prodigious network of the real estate elite. Some companies he advises for include Homeward, Side, and Zavvie.
He sells his reports on the latest trends in real estate on his site, and has written the book “Adventures in Real Estate Tech“.
His site also has free content about iBuyers, franchises, and industry trends. For example, read Facebook vs. Zillow: A breakdown of Facebook’s real estate strategy and the impact on portals around the world.
I recommend subscribing to his newsletter!
WAV Group
WAV Group Consluting is the real deal consulting firm, with clients like $4B real estate behemoth CoreLogic. Their consulting touches on just about every part of the industry: marketing, strategy, research, PR, artificial intelligence, and, of course, cutting edge technology!
Founded by Marilyn Wilson, the company is deeply involved with projects like Upstream.
They even do executive recruiting for positions like association, MLS, or brokerage staff. Their Facebook is worth a follow just to keep on top of MLS and industry news.
1000watt
More a marketing company than a tech company, tech is still a core component of what 1000watt does for its customers and I wanted to shout out to them.
1000watt was an Inman finalist for Most Innovative Company in 2018, and have gotten gigs like the branding for Broker Public Portal and have brokerages, technology tools, lenders, and more as clients.
1000watt is perhaps the top collection of minds in our industry for real estate marketing trends, and the perfect place to go to get inspired for a new real estate logo or brand redesign.
Conclusion
If you are a real estate professional struggling with technology, looking for different opinions and perspectives, or informing the corporate decision-making process, these are the best real estate experts to get you off on the right foot, in the right direction, with the right tools.
Updated January 18, 2021; Originally published October 28, 2018
