There were 6.46 million homes sold in the United States last year, according to the National Association of Realtors, and agents from a single company represented well over a million of those buyers and sellers: Realogy. 

This publicly owned corporate goliath sits quietly behind some of the most recognizable brands in real estate: Coldwell Banker, Century 21, Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate, ERA and Sotheby’s among them. Realogy — which calls itself the nation’s largest full-service residential real estate company — also a shareholder in the Guaranteed Rate mortgage and title service companies, too.   

The company boasts more than 20,000 affiliated real estate offices worldwide, with more than 190,000 real estate agents working under the Realogy umbrella in the United States alone. 

That immense size and reach puts powerful tools into agents’ hands, says Ayoub Rabah, president of Coldwell Banker Realty in Central West. “We’re supported by the Realogy platform in so many different ways, but really what comes to mind is just the deep bench of technology innovation that our agents ultimately see in our products.”

Of course, that well-resourced corporate parentage empowers not just Coldwell Banker agents, but some of their direct competitors, too. Ayoub says there’s a “separation of church and state” between different Realogy brands. But just as agents within the same brokerage may jockey for local clients and listings, Ayoub says there’s also a friendly competition between sister brands. 

“We look at this as a huge advantage — it’s really an unmatched network of support. We’re all united in this mission to make sure we’re serving our clients, and share best practices with each other,” Ayoub says. “It’s a healthy competition, and I think it helps us lift each other up. Rather than viewing ourselves as competitors, we want each other to do well and we continuously push each other.”