Have you ever wondered how your personal real estate agent website stacks against the top 25 agents on the Real Trends 500?
Well, wonder no more.
To see how the masters of the real estate universe roll online, we decided to take a deep dive into their websites and kick the tires a bit.
Using a mixture of objective measurements (Domain Authority and Google PageSpeed Insights) combined with subjective measurements (typography, design, and layout), we came up with The Close Score, which is our shiny new system to rank real estate agent websites.
Here’s how the websites of the Real Trends top 25 agents (by volume) stacked up in 2021.
1. Alexa Lambert, Compass
Amazingly, the number one agent by volume does not have a personal website. Have social media accounts and personal pages on brokerage websites replaced the real estate agent websites in 2021? We’re not going to speculate, so let’s take a look at Compass’ website to see how it stacks up.
Mobile View
Our Ranking of Compass’ Website:
Website: Compass.com/agents/alexa-lambert/
Layout and design: Excellent
Type: Brokerage website
CMS: Contentful
Mobile page speed: Fast
Mobile optimization: Great
Desktop page speed: Fast
Desktop optimization: High
Domain authority: 71 (out of 100)
The Close Score: 4.8 (out of 5)
2. Kathy Franklin, Corcoran
OK, hard not to notice some kind of trend here because the second-highest volume agent also does not have a personal website. That’s OK. Let’s take a look at Corcoran’s website instead:
Mobile View
Our Ranking of Corcoran’s Website:
Website: https://www.corcoran.com/nyc-real-estate/agents/east-side/cathy-franklin/13760
Layout and design: Excellent
Type: Brokerage website
CMS: Unknown
Mobile page speed: Fast
Mobile optimization: Great
Desktop page speed: Fast
Desktop optimization: High
Domain authority: 67 (out of 100)
The Close Score: 4.6 (out of 5)
3. Jade Mills, Coldwell Banker
One of the slickest and best-designed websites we looked at, Jade Mills’ website looked great on mobile, great on desktop, loaded quickly, and had a respectable domain authority. One of our favorites, for sure.
Mobile View
Our Ranking of Jade Mills’ Website:
Website: https://www.jademillsestates.com/
Layout and design: Excellent
Type: Personal website
CMS: Custom
Mobile page speed: Average
Mobile optimization: Medium
Desktop page speed: Average
Desktop optimization: Medium
Domain authority: 51 (out of 100)
The Close Score: 4.5 (out of 5)
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Layout and design: Excellent
Mobile View
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4. Serena Boardman, Sotheby’s International Realty
Another site on Sotheby’s lovely website platform, Serena Boardman’s site is just as well-laid out and attractive as the others. Being New Yorkers, we might have a slight (clearly unfair) preference for Boardman’s site.
Mobile View
Our Ranking of Serena Boardman’s Website:
Website: https://www.serenaboardman.com/
Layout and design: Good
Type: Personal website
CMS: Custom (Sotheby’s Proprietary)
Mobile page speed: Slow
Mobile optimization: Medium
Desktop page speed: Fast
Desktop optimization: Medium
Domain authority: 10 (out of 100)
The Close Score: 4.4
5. Tere Foster, Compass
A stylish and sleek website with stunning background videos and minimal design, Tere’s website is pretty much all you could ask for in a high-end real estate agent’s website. Mobile speed was a little on the slow side and domain authority could improve, but hardly deal killers for a site like this.
Mobile View
Our Ranking of Tere Foster’s Website:
Website: https://www.fosterrealty.com/
Layout and design: Good
Type: Team website
CMS: Custom
Mobile page speed: Medium
Mobile optimization: Medium
Desktop page speed: Fast
Desktop optimization: Medium
Domain authority: 26 (out of 100)
The Close Score: 4.4 (out of 5)
6. Judy Citron
As the tagline says, Judy Citron’s website is indeed very fresh. Minimal design, attractive imagery, and simple, easy-to-use navigation make this site a treat to use. Loading times were on the slow side, so it will be difficult to rank, but overall a great site.
Mobile View
Our Ranking of Judy Citron’s Website:
Website: https://www.judycitron.com/
Layout and design: Good
Type: Agent website
CMS: Bootstrap
Mobile page speed: Slow
Mobile optimization: Medium
Desktop page speed: Average
Desktop optimization: Medium
Domain authority: 14 (out of 100)
The Close Score: 4.3 (out of 5)
7. Santiago Arana, The Agency
Like his partner in the Real Trends top 25, we thought Santiago Arana’s brokerage site for The Agency is damn-near perfect. Again, the aesthetic side of our rankings is purely subjective.
Mobile View
Our Ranking of Santiago Arana’s Website:
Website: https://www.theagencyre.com
Layout and design: Excellent
Type: Brokerage website
CMS: Custom
Mobile page speed: Average
Mobile optimization: Good
Desktop page speed: Average
Desktop optimization: Low
Domain authority: 51 (out of 100)
The Close Score: 4.3
8. Deborah Rieders, Corcoran
ANOTHER super agent who does not have a personal website! So taking a second look at Corcoran’s site, it still looks great, but … why do the URLs for each agent page have 2517 at the end? A minor complaint for sure, but why?
Mobile View
Our Ranking of Corcoran’s Website:
Website: https://www.corcoran.com/nyc-real-estate/agents/brooklyn-heights/deborah-l-rieders/2517
Layout and design: Great
Type: Personal website
CMS: WordPress
Mobile page speed: Fast
Mobile optimization: Great
Desktop page speed: Fast
Desktop optimization: High
Domain authority: 67 (out of 100)
The Close Score: 4.6 (out of 5)
9. Tim Davis
Another great WordPress website for a Corcoran mega-agent (we’re coining this term, by the way). Looks great, not perfect, but great. Speed on mobile was a bit slow when we tested, but that might be due to a number of reasons. Some text and navigation was cut off on mobile as well, which doesn’t help.
Mobile View
Our Ranking of Tim Davis’ Website:
Website: https://timdavishamptons.com/
Layout and design: Great
Type: Personal website
CMS: WordPress
Mobile page speed: Fast
Mobile optimization: Great
Desktop page speed: Fast
Desktop optimization: High
Domain authority: 27 (out of 100)
The Close Score: 4.6 (out of 5)
10. David Offer, Berkshire Hathaway
With a name like David Offer, how could you not become a top-producing real estate agent? Unfortunately, his site has some fairly glaring issues that seem out of place for an agent who deals with such high-ticket properties. For example, the white background on the navigation bar either wouldn’t load or flickered on and off on desktop and mobile.
After a little snooping, we figured out why. This is a Squarespace website. Even so, these issues shouldn’t happen even with a Squarespace site.
Mobile View
Our Ranking of David Offer’s Website:
Website: https://www.davidoffer.com/
Layout and design: OK
Type: Personal website
CMS: Squarespace
Mobile page speed: Medium
Mobile optimization: Good
Desktop page speed: Medium
Desktop optimization: Medium
Domain authority: 43 (out of 100)
The Close Score: 3.4 (out of 5)
11. Billy McNair
Nice to see some creative navigation and layout design for once, but there seems to be a strange bar at the top of the navigation, and the overall layout could be a bit tighter. That said, it looks nice on both desktop and mobile.
Mobile View
Our Ranking of Billy McNair’s Website:
Website: https://www.mcnairgroup.com/Home
Layout and design: Good
Type: Personal website
CMS: Gutensite
Mobile page speed: Medium
Mobile optimization: Good
Desktop page speed: Fast
Desktop optimization: Medium
Domain authority: 17 (out of 100)
The Close Score: 4.0 (out of 5)
12. Jordan Cohen, RE/MAX
Nice, but a little cluttered for our tastes and the contact widget in the right sidebar seems a little intrusive. Typography and navigation could use some work too, especially compared to the other agent websites on our list. There was a slight glitch on the mobile screenshot, which is an artifact from DevTools and won’t show up on mobile—so ignore that.
Mobile View
Our Ranking of Jordan Cohen’s Website:
Website: https://jordancohen.com/
Layout and design: OK
Type: Personal website
CMS: Solutions for Real Estate
Mobile page speed: Medium
Mobile optimization: Good
Desktop page speed: Fast
Desktop optimization: Medium
Domain authority: 43 (out of 100)
The Close Score: 3.8 (out of 5)
14. Keri Nicholas, Parc Agency Corporation
Overall pretty good, but another website that was a little too cluttered for our tastes. Font choices also weren’t amazing, but nothing too egregious. At least they’re not using Arial …
Mobile View
Our Ranking of Keri Nicholas’ Website:
Website: https://www.kerinicholas.com/
Layout and design: OK
Type: Agent website
CMS: WordPress
Mobile page speed: Slow
Mobile optimization: Medium
Desktop page speed: Average
Desktop optimization: Medium
Domain authority: 25 (out of 100)
The Close Score: 3.8 (out of 5)
15. Michael Lawler, Sotheby’s
It’s … fine, but feels very dated. Layout, fonts, and navigation are in dire need of an upgrade.
Mobile View
Our Ranking of Michal Lawler’s Website:
Website: https://www.michaellawler.com/
Layout and design: OK
Type: Agent website
CMS: Custom
Mobile page speed: Average
Mobile optimization: Medium
Desktop page speed: Fast
Desktop optimization: Medium
Domain authority: 30 (out of 100)
The Close Score: 3.5 (out of 5)
16. Susan Frisbie
Nice-looking site that focuses on search on the home page. Logo and brand mark are front and center, which works well. Phone number is there, but less obnoxious than other sites. Overall, a great website. Mobile view also defaults to search, which makes sense, but would maybe like to have seen some more options there. Slow mobile speed brings the score down considerably on what would otherwise be an excellent site.
Mobile View
Our Ranking of Susan Frisbie’s Website:
Website: https://frisbiepalmbeach.com/
Layout and design: Great
Type: Agent website
CMS: Custom
Mobile page speed: Slow
Mobile optimization: Medium
Desktop page speed: Medium
Desktop optimization: Medium
Domain authority: 11 (out of 100)
The Close Score: 4.5 (out of 5)
17. Nelson Gonzalez, P.A., Berkshire Hathaway
A bit of a throwback site and maybe a little crowded for our tastes, but overall it still works. Can’t go wrong with having accolades like #1 Real Expert in Miami Beach front and center either. Slow load times on both mobile and desktop bring the score down, though.
Mobile View
Our Ranking of Nelson Gonzales’s Website:
Website: https://www.nelsongonzalez.com/
Layout and design: Good
Type: Agent website
CMS: WordPress
Mobile page speed: Slow
Mobile optimization: Medium
Desktop page speed: Slow
Desktop optimization: Medium
Domain authority: 43 (out of 100)
The Close Score: 4.0 (out of 5)
18. Craig Morris, Sotheby’s
A classic design overall, but we would have liked to see some copy in the middle of the hero image slider, and navigation elements look a little bit dated. An out-of-the-box site for sure, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Mobile View
Our Ranking of Craig Morris’ Website:
Website: http://www.craigmorris.com/
Layout and design: Good
Type: Agent website
CMS: custom
Mobile page speed: Medium
Mobile optimization: Medium
Desktop page speed: Fast
Desktop optimization: Medium
Domain authority: 21 (out of 100)
The Close Score: 4.0 (out of 5)
19. Moya Skillman, Compass (Team Foster)
Sleek minimal site with branding front and center, and videos of luxury homes as the hero slider. The layout is spare and easy to navigate, and we love how branding and not search is front and center on the page on both mobile and desktop. For luxury agents, brand matters far more than search.
Mobile View
Our Ranking of Moya Skillman’s (Team Foster) Website:
Website: https://www.fosterrealty.com/
Layout and design: Excellent
Type: Agent website
CMS: Custom (Luxury Presence)
Mobile page speed: Slow
Mobile optimization: Medium
Desktop page speed: Fast
Desktop optimization: Medium
Domain authority: 26 (out of 100)
The Close Score: 4.6 (out of 5)
20. Tracy McLaughlin, The Agency
Nice to see a little creativity among a sea of virtually identical real estate agent websites. Having an Instagram-like layout on the front page puts branding front and center. This is something we highly recommend for luxury agents, or wannabe luxury agents. Site speed can, and often does, suffer as a result though, but not here. Speeds on mobile and desktop were both fast.
Mobile View
Our Ranking of Tracy McLaughlin’s (Team Foster) Website:
Website: https://www.tracymclaughlin.com/
Layout and design: Excellent
Type: Agent website
CMS: Custom
Mobile page speed: Fast
Mobile optimization: High
Desktop page speed: Fast
Desktop optimization: High
Domain authority: 22 (out of 100)
The Close Score: 4.7 (out of 5)
21. Harvey Daniels, Sotheby’s
Another site made with Sotheby’s proprietary website builder, we loved how this site manages to incorporate a head shot, but not in a cheesy way. Exclusive listings and search are front and center, with branding messaging and a personal introduction video below the fold.
Mobile View
Our Ranking of Harvey Daniels’ Website:
Website: https://harveydaniels.onesothebysrealty.com/
Layout and design: Excellent
Type: Agent website
CMS: Custom (Sotheby’s)
Mobile page speed: Slow
Mobile optimization: Medium
Desktop page speed: Medium
Desktop optimization: Medium
Domain authority: 56 (out of 100)
The Close Score: 4.5 (out of 5)
22. Darlene Streit, Sotheby’s
This site uses the same CMS/website builder as Craig Morris’ site, and as a result has the same pros and cons. It looks fine, but we would still like to see some copy, or anything besides a picture alone, front and center. Navigation is also a little dated-looking.
Mobile View
Our Ranking of Darlene Streit’s Website:
Website: http://www.darlenestreit.com/
Layout and design: Good
Type: Agent website
CMS: Custom
Mobile page speed: Medium
Mobile optimization: Medium
Desktop page speed: Fast
Desktop optimization: High
Domain authority: 9 (out of 100)
The Close Score: 4.2 (out of 5)
23. Kevin Gioia, SoldBot
Clearly designed for conversion rather than branding, the SoldBot website works well. It almost feels like a landing page more than a website, but at the end of the day, the name of the game is getting leads, so why not?
Mobile View
Our Ranking of Kevin Gioia’s Website:
Website: https://www.soldbot.com/
Layout and design: Good
Type: Agent website
CMS: Custom
Mobile page speed: Medium
Mobile optimization: Medium
Desktop page speed: Fast
Desktop optimization: High
Domain authority: 8 (out of 100)
The Close Score: 4.5 (out of 5)
24. Neal Ward, Compass
Another Instagram-style layout, but this time with a sidebar on the left putting listings and personal details front and center. Works well from a branding perspective, but page speed can be an issue. On mobile simplicity takes over, which makes sense.
Mobile View
Our Ranking of Neal Ward’s Website:
Website: https://www.nealwardproperties.com/
Layout and design: Good
Type: Agent website
CMS: WordPress
Mobile page speed: Not data
Mobile optimization: Medium
Desktop page speed: Not data
Desktop optimization: High
Domain authority: 33 (out of 100)
The Close Score: 4.4 (out of 5)
25. Wynette Medders, Coldwell Banker
A pretty blog-standard real estate website, but we did like the inclusion of a testimonial front and center on the page. At this level, branding is crucial. We would have liked to see a more polished looking logo, though, and while the layout was fine, overall design and typography could use some work.
Mobile View
Our Ranking of Wynette Medders’ Website:
Website: http://www.wendymedders.com/
Layout and design: OK
Type: Agent website
CMS: WordPress
Mobile page speed: Slow
Mobile optimization: Medium
Desktop page speed: Fast
Desktop optimization: High
Domain authority: 2 (out of 100)
The Close Score: 4.1 (out of 5)
Real Estate Agent Website Resources & Tools
Are you inspired yet? Ready to build your own real estate agent website? Well, you’ve come to the right place. We put together this handy list of real estate agent website resources to make your life easier.
- Website builder: Website builders save you the trouble of building your site from scratch or even from WordPress templates. Here are our favorite real estate website builders:
Next, you’re going to need high-quality stock images and lots of them. We recommend Unsplash, which is 100% free and has beautiful, high-quality images to download.
If you’re looking for a good do-it-yourself tutorial on building your own real estate agent website with WordPress, check out our in-depth, step-by-step guide.
Over to You
What do you think of our ranking of the top 25 Real Trends real estate agents’ websites? Let us know in the comments or join us on our Facebook Mastermind group here.
WordPress is not for really serious projects. Heavy, unfriendly(compared to other good platforms) and hard scale beginners platform. And I know that U use WordPress. If U need the fast and best looking website, the answer is the one – turn key custom project without any wordpress/drupal and so on, except Jekyll.
I’d have to disagree. I know several websites that get 2 million+ vistors per year that run on WordPress.
Aesthetics are not subjective. Aristotle went through great lengths to prove this when he first popularized the concept.
Next you say taste is subjective…. Please use a somm when you go out.
Hmmm, going to have to respectfully disagree as I’m using the word as a stand in for something akin to taste and not in the truly Aristotelian sense. In other words, yes we view the world filtered through our values and instincts. For example, babies are afraid of snakes even though they have never been bitten by a snake. What is it about a snake that says “danger” in a way that a baby can read? However, while human beings interpret the world filtered through our values and instincts, we also quite literally see objects as potential actions, not as they truly are. For example a chair might look a certain way, but our brain maps it instantly as a place to sit. However, when we look at say, an apple crate or a flat rock by the ocean our brain also sees these as “sitting places” just like the chair. Likewise a well designed website connotes competence and trustworthiness of the people who made it if not the people who paid for it. Like the chair, a website is also seen as potential action. Something like, “a person I can trust” or “a person I can’t afford” etc. So in this sense, the aesthetics of a website are indeed highly subjective unless they include pictures of snakes.
Great article!
Has anyone tested http://www.liveio.com?
Incredibly user-friendly and stylish design. Seems like this will be Europe’s next portal.
Nope. Haven’t heard of it. Maybe someone else has.
Good Afternoon,
We are boutique real estate office in Nosara Costa Rica.
When searching for inspiration before completing our new website last year we viewed your articles about the top real estate websites for some inspiration.
Now that our website has been in operation for a while, we would love for you to consider us in the future if you decide to do a similar article. You can view our site here: https://www.wanderlustrealty.com
We feel that it is a tough contender and could be a great addition to your 2019/2020 version. Thanks for your consideration!
Hey Nathaniel, love the site and will see if we can work it into a future article. Did you design in-house?
Hello! It was exciting to see a site we built (Nancy Taylor Bubes) listed in your review. Thank you for pointing out many had slower page speed and that it could be related to luxury real estate sites. We actually make sure to work with the smallest image files possible without giving up quality. In the case of Nancy’s website, the load speed is actually related to the large number of listings she has. We manually update her site weekly so that the slider has one image of each active listing and Nancy averages over 20 listings at a time (that’s just the ones in MLS–not counting private exclusives!). This is what creates the load speed problem with her site, but we do regularly test it and remove images from the site that are not actively in use–anything to continue to be mindful of speed. Kelly Dillon, NGMediaTeam.com
Hey Kelly,
Thanks for stopping by! There are a ton of issues that can affect page load speed and generally speaking the more code, the slower your page will load. (hey that rhymed!) IDX is pretty notorious for this as you’re relying on data from a third party.
Need tips on how the site (my real estate website – in WordPress) I am about to create be ranked No.1 in your review?
Thanks 😉
Well Ace, you need to design and build a site that is better than all the other sites on this page… An ambitious goal, but the best goals usually are. Good luck!