Curated directory

Top luxury brokerages

The national and global firms that define the high end of American real estate — the brands behind the agents and teams, with the office networks, marketing engines and referral reach to move the market's most expensive inventory. Ranked below by illustrative annual volume.

US existing-home sales
$4T+
Illustrative annual dollar volume across the market
US brokerage firms
106K+
Illustrative count of active real estate brokerages
Profiled here
10
The leading national & global luxury firms
1

Compass

Founded 2012 · New York City

The largest residential brokerage in the US by sales volume, known for a technology-first agent platform and rapid nationwide expansion.

Tech-forward National Luxury
$230B
2025 volume
33K+
Agents
2

Sotheby's International Realty

Founded 1976 · New York City

A global luxury network tied to the Sotheby's auction house brand, with a presence in dozens of countries and the top of most trophy markets.

Global Ultra-luxury Iconic brand
$180B
2025 volume
1,100+
Offices
3

Douglas Elliman

Founded 1911 · New York City

One of the largest independent brokerages in the country, dominant in New York and a powerhouse across Florida, California and the Hamptons.

Luxury East Coast New development
$95B
2025 volume
100+
Offices
4

Coldwell Banker Global Luxury

Founded 1906 · Madison, New Jersey

The luxury division of one of the most established names in American real estate, with worldwide reach and a deep affiliate network.

Global Heritage brand Franchise
$140B
2025 volume
2,200+
Offices
5

The Corcoran Group

Founded 1973 · New York City

A defining New York luxury brand, strong in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Hamptons, with a growing national franchise footprint.

Luxury New York Franchise
$60B
2025 volume
150+
Offices
6

@properties Christie's International

Founded 2000 · Chicago

A fast-growing brokerage that acquired Christie's International Real Estate, pairing a strong Chicago base with a global luxury affiliate network.

Global affiliates Tech-forward Midwest base
$50B
2025 volume
900+
Offices
7

Christie's International Real Estate

Founded 1995 · New York City

The real estate arm of the storied auction house, an invitation-only global network of luxury affiliate brokerages.

Global Ultra-luxury Iconic brand
$45B
2025 volume
900+
Offices
8

The Agency

Founded 2011 · Beverly Hills

A boutique-luxury brokerage founded by Mauricio Umansky that scaled globally through franchising while keeping a design-led, collaborative culture.

Boutique luxury Global Design-led
$40B
2025 volume
120+
Offices
9

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices

Founded 2013 · Irvine, California

A large franchise network backed by the Berkshire Hathaway name, spanning the full market with a growing luxury collection.

National Franchise Trusted brand
$120B
2025 volume
1,500+
Offices
10

Keller Williams Luxury

Founded 1983 · Austin, Texas

The luxury division of the largest real estate franchise by agent count, pairing a vast agent network with high-end training and branding.

National Franchise Agent network
$160B
2025 volume
160K+
Agents

All rankings, annual volume, office and agent counts shown above are illustrative and provided for demonstration only. They do not represent verified company data. Firm names, founding years, headquarters and reputations reference publicly known information, but every figure should be independently verified before you rely on it.

How we rank

How brokerages are measured

Brokerage rankings sit on a different scale than agents and teams, but the logic rhymes. Total closed sales volume is the headline figure and the primary sort. Beyond it, we weigh reach — the office and agent network that determines how much inventory a firm can touch — and brand equity in the luxury tier, where a name like Sotheby's or Christie's carries measurable pull. Note that franchise brands aggregate many independent offices, so their totals are not directly comparable to a company-owned brokerage. For the underlying framework, see the agent ranking methodology.

Keep exploring
Common questions
Why are franchise and company-owned firms ranked together?
For breadth. A franchise like Keller Williams aggregates thousands of independently operated offices, while a firm like Compass is largely company-owned — so their totals are not apples-to-apples. We note the model in each listing's tags and treat the order as illustrative rather than a strict head-to-head.
Are the volume and office figures real?
No. The firms, founding years and headquarters are real and publicly known, but every volume, office and agent count is illustrative and must be independently verified. For verified numbers, consult each company's investor or franchise disclosures.
How do I compete with a big brokerage brand?
With a brand and marketing presence of your own. WealthyBud builds the websites, SEO and reporting tools that let independent agents and boutiques punch above their size. Get started to see how.