C'mon all you nay sayers and Realtor bashers!

Born and raised here and miss the old Naples. But nothing stays the same anywhere and beautiful Naples is no different. Bring progress on, we all need it! Progress and growth means money for a lot of us out here. Before you start criticizing realtors (I'm not one), understand that when they are making money, most of the rest of us are as well! Remember how much extra cash was around two years ago? Bring it on!!

trehuger, there is not much to bash here, just Realtors advertising for other Realtors, it is like the Academy Awards for Realtors. Does anyone really care outside of the industry which firms have the most sales?

I think it says a lot for 2 firms in a tiny little town like Naples to be ranked among the big boys nationally!

Flacrkr you are right in what you say. With growth comes higher taxes to supply the needs for all. Just remember what you said. And there is no way to get around it.

But dont get me wrong I am not against growth. Theres just a price to pay. And as taxpayers we pay it.

Trehuger,

I would like fries with that burger thanks.

I've read the report. If you read the "fine print" you will understand why these 2 local firms made the list. The major New York City realtors are not on list for obvious reasons (see the fine print).

Sour grapes for some reason dooley? Let em have their moment. So few these days. Funny, if you just looked at these two firms as normal local businesses and not Real Estate firms, we'd all be congratulating them for their national accomplishment.

Hmmm, now that I think about it, congratulations!

I don't see how a comparision of Downing-Frye and J.R.Wood is feasible as they are two animals of opposing stripes.
The Realtors at Downing-Frye pay a monthly rental fee to hang their license on the wall then operate as independant businesses, retaining their entire commission. On the other hand J.R.Wood operates as a traditional real estate brokerage where the agents are paid a percentage of the comissions they generate.
Downing-Frye's income remains somewhat steady through good or bad times as it is based on how many agents they can get to pay rent, whereas Woods fortune is subject to the vagaries of the market since they depend on the volume of sales they broker.
Compare it to a hair salon that rents chairs to their stylists vs. the salons who pay their stylist based on the income generated.
Who knows where you get the better haircut? ...But I'll bet that you can guess which company owners are raking in the most moolah!

Tango - your last question is non-sensical. Your question should be "Can you guess which company's profits are more stable?"

Re: a comparison, the report details total sales in both dollars and transactions. Why is this not a fair measure to compare the two firms both here and in the marketplace? How they pay their 1099's is irrelevent. Yes?

naplesregular: You missed the point and I'm not keen on explaining it differently.

Naplestango read the article (thank you naplesregular) its based on total transactions and sales.
Again naplesregular thank you, indeed if these were other types of business people would be hoping up and down, unbelievable.

Lastly "time" realtors advertising for realtors, hmmm. Every profession has their own internal awards, this one is national, you should be proud. Leave your miserableness at home where it belongs

Despite popular misconceptions, there is still alot of inventory being moved here in Naples.

And a good portion is FISBO related.

Many people have taken matters into their own hands to avoid hige commissions that cut into their already shrunken bottom line.

And especially in the mid-range condo market.
Difference of lowering a condo price by $5000 (by the owner) or paying out $15,000 in a commission is common sense.

Congratulations! To JR Wood and Downing-Frye. Good to see growth still pays for growth, right? Isn't that what the upper crust states. Keep building, we have the room and need more store front vacant space. We need more unused homes. Not a problem. Eventually someone or some business will need them, right?
Good to hear that at least 2 businesses seem to be prospering. It seems others have closed their doors permanently and still others are barely surviving.
There is a silver lining.
(Can I sell my home now and get out of here, I've been a good boy and not belittled nor badmouthed any realtors...)

This place reeks!

Techie - when was the last time you had anything POSITIVE to say on ANY subject? LOL

Tango - you're factual statement of how those 2 firms are set up is correct. I only debated your assessment of profitability. JRW is the std RE model. DNFR is more risk averse. Pick your poison which business model is better. I personally like to sleep at night however.

The first paragraph says "list of top 100 companies for sales volume in 2007"

it further acknowledges the number of transactions, but it appears the list is based on sales volume. I think we would need to look at the actual REALTOR magazine to see the story. NDN isn't clear

Those two agencies seem to have the high ticket listings...