National Relocation Relocation and Real Estate magazine is out with its 1999 "Power Broker" report -- again naming NRT Inc. as the largest real estate company in the nation, followed by Weichert Realtors® and Long & Foster.

Publisher John Featherston said what clearly emerged from this year's report is that "NRT is absolutely at the head of the pack. (NRT CEO) Bob Becker is doing a bang up job. It's just a marvelous company."

National Relocation and Real Estate listed the Parsippany, N.J.-based NRT has having completed 348,148 transactions in 1998 for a sales volume of $84.0 billion.

Weichert, of Morris Plains, N.J., was listed as having completed 75,550 transactions for a sales volume of $16.1 billion. Long & Foster, headquartered in Fairfax, Va., was posted as having completed 59,122 sides with volume of $10.5 billion.

Rounding out the Top 10 were:

4. Windermere, Seattle, Wash.; 34,941 transactions; $8.5 billion volume

5. Edina Realty, Edina, Minn.; 34,649; $5.1 billion

6. Arvida Realty, Clearwater, Fla.; 33,349; $5.9 billion

7. Coldwell Banker, Chicago; 30,000; $7.2 billion

8. Realty Executives, Phoenix; 27,185; $4.1 billion

9. O'Connor Piper & Flynn ERA, Baltimore; 25,805; $3.5 billion

10. Gundaker, BH&G, St. Louis; 21,896; $2.9 billion.

This years Power Broker list was expanded from 250 to 300. No explanation was given for the longer list.

The final company on the list was RE/MAX All-Pro of California with 1,247 transactions and $126 million in transactions.

Featherston said although the gap between top the company and the last one was quite wide, "what impressed me was how well managed and efficiently run the companies are, including the small ones."

It is the 11th year National Relocation and Real Estate has put out its list of power brokers and this year it did comparisons between the 1988 list and the 1999 version.

In 1988, it said, 26 companies around the country did more than 10,000 transactions each. In 1998, that number grew to 38.

The magazine also noted that in 1988 it interviewed nine corporate chiefs for what was then the "Superstars of Real Estate" list. Of those original nine, only four remain heads of companies in the current list.

Featherston also suggested that 11 years from now that number may be even smaller. "I see more consolidation coming in the future," he said.

The magazine reported that for the first time in five years, the average number of transactions per agent among the Power Brokers increased. For the last five years the average Power Broker agent was involved in 11 transactions, but that number leaped to 13 this year, which Featherston attributed to "a better market."

Closed volume for the average Power Broker agent also went up, from $2 million last year to $2.3 million this year.

The report showed that 121 companies on the list were independents and remainder were owned by franchises.

RE/MAX International dominated the franchise numbers with 75 companies on the list, compared to 37 for Coldwell Banker; 28 for Prudential; 22 for Better Homes and Gardens; 16 for Century 21; 8 for Realty Executives and 4 for ERA.