Index: The EPR Real Estate Coverage Directory, the master index of EPR's real estate coverage. Originally published September 2024. Rewritten October 2026.
The seven best real estate communicators are Ryan Serhant, Barbara Corcoran, Gary Keller, Fredrik Eklund, Josh Altman, Tom Ferry and Jilliene Helman. Each turned a personal voice into a business of its own through television, books, coaching, media or a platform, and each shows brokers how a clear message builds a lasting brand. This list is an editorial pick, not a sales-volume ranking.
In this list
- How did we choose the best real estate communicators?
- Who are the 7 best at a glance?
- Ryan Serhant
- Barbara Corcoran
- Gary Keller
- Fredrik Eklund
- Josh Altman
- Tom Ferry
- Jilliene Helman
- What do they have in common?
- What can a broker learn from them?
- Frequently asked questions
How did we choose the best real estate communicators?
We chose operators whose personal brand grew well beyond their own listings. Residential real estate is now a personal-brand business, and the people below built audiences that open doors to books, media, coaching, platforms and brokerages. We looked for four things:
- A clear voice. Their message is easy to repeat in one sentence.
- Owned media. They publish through books, shows, podcasts, events or platforms they control.
- Staying power. Their brand has lasted across market cycles.
- A business behind the brand. The voice drives revenue beyond a single listing book.
Who are the 7 best real estate communicators at a glance?
| # | Communicator | Known for | Signature platform |
|---|
| 1 | Ryan Serhant | Media-first brokerage | SERHANT. and Million Dollar Listing New York |
| 2 | Barbara Corcoran | Founder story and business media | The Corcoran Group and Shark Tank |
| 3 | Gary Keller | Making the agent the brand | Keller Williams and The Millionaire Real Estate Agent |
| 4 | Fredrik Eklund | Personality-led team building | Eklund Gomes Team and The Sell |
| 5 | Josh Altman | Luxury sales and reality TV reach | The Altman Brothers Team |
| 6 | Tom Ferry | Coaching and training | Ferry International and Success Summit |
| 7 | Jilliene Helman | Real estate crowdfunding | RealtyMogul |
1. Ryan Serhant: Who Turned a Brokerage Into a Media Company?
Ryan Serhant built SERHANT. as a brokerage that behaves like a media company. He left Nest Seekers in 2020 to launch it, after starring in Bravo's Million Dollar Listing New York from the show's first season. The idea is simple and powerful: the brokerage makes content, the content brings in leads, and the leads become sales. He also shares the playbook through his books, including Sell It Like Serhant, and through the Netflix series Owning Manhattan. Serhant shows brokers what happens when a real estate firm treats storytelling as its main growth engine.
2. Barbara Corcoran: Who Turned a Founder Story Into a Media Career?
Barbara Corcoran founded The Corcoran Group in 1973 with $1,000 and sold it to NRT for $66 million in 2001. She then built a second career as a business media voice. She has been a Shark on ABC's Shark Tank since 2009, hosts the Business Unusual podcast and appears regularly on national television. Her 2011 book, Shark Tales, tells the founder story that many in the industry still point to. Corcoran proves that a strong personal story can outlast the company that first made it.
3. Gary Keller: Who Made the Agent the Brand?
Gary Keller co-founded Keller Williams Realty in Austin in 1983, and it has grown into one of the largest real estate franchises in the world. His 2004 book, The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, became one of the best-known business books in the field. KW MAPS Coaching then trained a generation of top producers. Keller's central idea was that a brokerage exists to help the agent build a personal brand. Many firms that scaled after him adopted parts of that thinking.
4. Fredrik Eklund: Who Built a Team Around Personality?
Fredrik Eklund moved from Sweden to New York in 2003 and became one of the most recognizable brokers in the country. He starred in Million Dollar Listing New York for nine seasons and left the show in 2022. With partner John Gomes he leads the Eklund Gomes Team at Douglas Elliman, which counted more than 75 agents across 12 cities when he announced his departure, according to Inman. His book, The Sell, became a New York Times bestseller. Eklund shows how high energy and a memorable style can scale into a national team.
5. Josh Altman: Who Turned Reality TV Into a Luxury Sales Team?
Josh Altman and his brother Matt lead The Altman Brothers Team at Douglas Elliman, which they joined in 2015. Josh appeared on Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles for 11 seasons before he and his wife Heather announced they were leaving after Season 15. The Real Deal reports the team has more than $9 billion in career sales, with over $5 billion of that since 2021. The team has also grown its offices across Southern California. Altman shows how television reach can feed a serious, long-running sales business.
6. Tom Ferry: Who Became Real Estate's Best-Known Coach?
Tom Ferry is the founder and CEO of Ferry International, a coaching and training company for agents and brokers. His own site notes that the Swanepoel Power 200 ranks him as the top real estate educator and that he has more than 30,000 hours of coaching experience. He wrote Life! By Design and Mindset, Model and Marketing! (2017), and his annual Success Summit is a flagship three-day event for the industry. Ferry learned the craft from his father, coach Mike Ferry. He is proof that teaching can be as powerful a personal brand as selling.
7. Jilliene Helman: Who Gave Real Estate Investing a Public Face?
Jilliene Helman founded RealtyMogul in 2012 after leaving a wealth management role at Union Bank. The company became one of the first real estate crowdfunding marketplaces, opening an asset class that was once out of reach for many investors. Helman also hosts the Mogul Insights podcast, where she shares what she learns with a wider audience. Her brand rests on founder authority and clear teaching rather than on television reach. That makes her a useful model for communicators in commercial real estate and proptech.
What do the best real estate communicators have in common?
- They own a channel. A show, book, podcast, event or platform keeps their message in their own hands.
- They teach. Books, coaching and podcasts turn experience into trust.
- They keep one clear idea. Each can be described in a single sentence.
- They build a business around the voice. Media supports a brokerage, a team, a franchise or a platform.
- They stay consistent. Most have shown up for a decade or more.
What can a broker learn from them?
- Pick one idea. Decide the single sentence you want to be known for.
- Start a channel you own. A newsletter, podcast or video series is enough to begin.
- Teach what you know. Share the lessons from real deals.
- Publish on a steady schedule. Consistency builds recognition over time.
- Connect the content to the business. Give every piece a clear next step for a client.
