United's nimble shift to new strategic growth initiatives and unwavering support for its affiliates resulted in a 12% growth in agents during 2024, despite a mass exodus of real estate practitioners nationwide
DALLAS, Feb. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Ten United® Real Estate (United) leaders are featured among 300 distinguished professionals in RISMedia's 2025 Real Estate Newsmakers list. The report shines a spotlight on United's leaders who responded quickly to industry change and seized opportunities for the benefit of its owners, agents and consumers.
United is highlighted for the fifth consecutive year, with ten members featured — the most within its national network to be recognized in a single year. This notable achievement underscores the company's high-performing team and commitment to improving the financial future of its 25,000 agents, their families, clients and the communities it serves.
United Real Estate CTO David Dickey and United Real Estate Vice President of Marketing Amanda Cline have been named Trailblazers.
Dickey directs United's internal product development team, efficiently overseeing its $5M in annual enhancements to its proprietary Bullseye Cloud-Based Productivity Platform. In 2024, Dickey's team launched LeadBoost which uses AI to optimize agents' social media advertising spend for referral-free leads and established the foundations for a to-be-released marketplace for agents.
Cline led the rollout of United's new logo and refreshed websites in 2024. She also oversaw the launch of Marketing Hub and LeadBoost in Bullseye, enhancing agents' personal branding, property marketing and lead generation. Under her leadership, LeadBoost drove over 17,000 leads to the brokerage's agent base to date.
Benchmark Realty (a United Company) CEO and EVP of Strategy for United Phillip Cantrell and Virtual Properties Realty (a United Company) CEO and EVP of Training, Education and Development for United Steve Wagner have been named Influencers.
Cantrell engineered and managed the launch of United Real Estate's Financial Wellness Program, encompassing healthcare insurance, financial literacy and wealth management. In just nine months, the program resulted in over $3 million to date in new savings and debt elimination for affiliates. Phillip is also an author and will be releasing his first book "Failing My Way to Success (and Failure)" in 2025.
Wagner's company he co-founded celebrated its 25th anniversary and reached a 5,000-agent milestone in 2024. As EVP of Training, Education & Development for United, Wager deployed world-class education to United's national network through its Learning Academy learning management system.
Premiere Plus Realty (a United Affiliated Company) President Jillian Young has been named a Futurist.
Young successfully led her firm through significant growth in 2024. She orchestrated an affiliation with United Real Estate, strategically positioning the brokerage for national expansion. Her leadership has empowered Premiere's 1,500 agents in Southwest Florida with extensive training, ensuring compliance following the NAR settlement.
United Real Estate Vice President of Operations Leigh Ann Bogran and Virtual Properties Realty (a United Company) COO and co-owner of United Country | Premier Properties Jamie Mertz have been named Achievers.
Bogran led the Talent Attraction Program and developed procedures to enhance national recruiting to drive positive net agent growth in 2024. She implemented the standardization of marketing agreements, collaborated on cross-functional teams to meet agent training & development goals and assisted with the launch of United's Financial Wellness Program and healthcare plans for affiliates.
Mertz oversaw the smooth operations of VPR and supported its 5,000 agents across Georgia during challenging market conditions in 2024. Through her facilitation of effective recruiting and retention support and emphasis on agent development and relationship-building, VPR experienced strong retention and net agent growth in 2024.
United Real Estate President Rick Haase is among three real estate leaders to be invited to join the 2025 Newsmakers Hall of Fame, recognizing a lifetime of achievements in the industry.
Over the past 30 years, the regional and national companies Haase has served succeeded despite industry headwinds. At United, Haase has been instrumental in accelerating the expansion of the company and is keenly focused on the firm's mission to change the financial trajectory of agents' careers and lives.
United Real Estate Group CEO Dan Duffy and United Real Estate | Richmond (a United Affiliate) co-founder John Finn have been honored as Luminaries.
Duffy challenged his team to see things differently during one of the most difficult markets by turning turmoil into opportunity. United achieved a 12% agent growth in 2024, despite the industry estimating a 6% to 10% decrease in total agents. In 2024, his firm became the fastest-growing with a 727% growth rate over the past five years.
With a 45-year career in real estate and co-founder of the largest Black-owned real estate company, Finn is recognized for his mentorship and contributions to inclusivity within his profession and community. His success and contributions have been profiled by RISMedia, Forbes, Metro Real Estate, Style and Richmond Magazine, and in 2024, he received the Civic Leader of the Year award and was inducted into the Richmond Association of REALTORS Hall of Fame.
"Hamlet said it perfectly…this is an 'embassage of goodly virtues,' an 'embarrassment of riches' of recognition for our United Real Estate team. The accolades for each team member noted are very deserved based on their effort, contributions and results but a bit embarrassing nonetheless. I am regularly astonished by the amazing professionals who are dedicated to improving the financial trajectories and lives of our 25,000 affiliated agents, brokers, auctioneers and employees," stated Dan Duffy, United Real Estate Group CEO. "I am more excited than ever for United's future and for what is to come!"
About United Real Estate
United Real Estate (United) – a division of United Real Estate Group – was founded with the purpose of offering solutions to real estate brokers and agents in the rapidly changing real estate brokerage industry. United provides the latest training, marketing and technology tools to agents and brokers under a flat-fee, transaction-based agent commission model. By leveraging the company's proprietary cloud-based Bullseye™ Agent & Broker Productivity Platform, United delivers a more profitable outcome for agents and brokers. United Real Estate operates in 34 states with 170 offices and more than 22,000 agents. The company produced over 73,000 transactions and $26.3 billion in sales volume in 2024.
About United Real Estate Group
United Real Estate Group (UREG) operates United Real Estate and United Country Real Estate, addressing the unique market needs of suburban, major metropolitan urban and rural markets. Utilizing the cloud-based Bullseye™ Agent & Broker Productivity Platform, UREG offers the latest training, marketing and technology tools producing a significant competitive advantage. The platform realizes over a decade-long investment in virtual agent and brokerage technology services and is powered by a 2.6 million listings data warehouse generating over 3 million monthly visitors and 30,000+ leads per year. Together, the United Real Estate Group supports more than 600 offices and 25,000 real estate and auction professionals across four continents. United Real Estate Group produced 90,000 transactions and $30.7 billion in sales volume in 2024. Through its in-house advertising agency, UREG offers differentiating marketing support and collateral for specialized lifestyle property websites as well as access to a 800,000+ opt-in buyer database. For more information about United Real Estate or United Country Real Estate, please visit UnitedRealEstate.com or UnitedCountry.com.
To learn more about United Real Estate, brokerage succession planning, brokerage valuation and sale or franchising opportunities, visit GrowWithUnited.com. Agents interested in learning about career opportunities with United Real Estate can visit JoinUnitedRealEstate.com.
Media Contact
April Gonzalez, United Real Estate, 504-237-3500, [email protected], www.UnitedRealEstate.com
SOURCE United Real Estate
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