Based on their sales volume last year, five Palm Beach Realtors earned spots on a national Top 250 list prepared annually as part of a Wall Street Journal special advertising section.
The ranking — based on information submitted by agents or their firms — was released Friday and compiled by Denver-based Real Trends, which co-sponsored the project with the Journal. Only agents who elected to participate were ranked.
Corcoran Group agent Paulette Koch led the Palm Beach roster by earning the No. 21 spot with a reported sales volume of $233.55 million. She also was the top-ranked Florida agent on the list.
Koch took part in the largest sale on the island last year, a $42.9-million deal in which three adjacent properties changed hands simultaneously in the 500 block of South Ocean Boulevard and 61 Middle Road — a record sale for an estate in the Estate Section. She had co-listed the property with her son, Dana Koch, with whom she often shares listings.
“I love what I do,” Paulette Koch said. “It’s a passion, and I take great pride in achieving results. I also feel fortunate that I have the best clientele. I care a lot about my clients, whether buy or seller. That’s the truth.”
Broker Christian Angle of Christian Angle Real Estate was next on the list, ranked No. 26 with $219.11 million.
Agent Cristina Condon of Sotheby’s International Realty came in 43rd on the list with $170.63 million.
Carol Sollak, a principal and agent with the island franchise of Engel & Volkers, came in 58th with $148.17 million.
Agent Jim McCann of the Corcoran Group took the No. 85 spot with $118.18 million.
Angle ranked No. 2 in the state, Condon No. 5, Sollak No. 6 and McCann No. 11.
In the No. 1 position was Ben Cabalerro of HomesUSA.com agent in Addison, Texas, whose transactions totaled $924.25 million. He also took the top spot last year, with about $737.2 million in sales. The rest of top 20 was dominated by agents in New York and California, with one in Massachusetts and one in Colorado.
All of the Palm Beach agents also appeared on the list released last year, with Angle leading the Palm Beach pack in the 21st spot with $202.3 million in 2013 sales, followed by McCann (No. 22 with $195 million), Condon (No. 56 with $121 million), Koch (No. 110 with $88.2 million) and Sollack (No. 156 with $73.7 million).
Other Palm Beach County agents on the latest list include Pascal Liguori of Premier Estate Properties in Delray Beach (No. 83 with $120.41 million in sales), Rob Thompson of Waterfront Properties and Club Communities in Jupiter (No. 93 with $113.2 million), and agent Candace Friis of Corcoran’s Delray Beach office (No. 122 with $100.6 million).
Absent from the list was Lawrence Moens of Lawrence A. Moens Associates, a top-producing Palm Beach real estate broker who has said he chooses not to participate in rankings of this sort.
Sales averages ranked
Four of the Palm Beach agents and brokers on the sales-volume list also earned a spot in a separate Top 250 ranking based on the average dollar amount of their transactions in 2014. The number of transactions per agent was not disclosed.
That list was led by agent Carole Ruhlman of Sotheby’s International Realty, who earned the No. 51 spot on that list, with a $9.93 million average. She was followed by Condon (in 62nd place with $9.03 million), McCann (in 129th place with $5.86 million), Paulette Koch (in 143rd place with $5.5 million) and Angle (in 157th place with $5.22 million).
Also on the average-transaction list were Brown Harris Stevens agent Ben Stein (in 187th place with $4.71 million), Corcoran agent Suzanne Frisbie (in 203rd place wtih $4.52 million) and broker Linda Olsson of Linda R. Olsson Realtor Inc. (in 219th place with $4.4 million).
Agencies, agents and brokers who wish to participate in the rankings furnish Real Trends with data about their transactions and pay a fee to be considered, according to the company’s website. Participants are solicited nationwide but also can request an application. Sales data must be verified by an independent source and is reviewed by Real Trends staff, according to the company.
The lists are part of a project named The Thousand, which also includes two Top 250 lists recognizing individual agents and sales teams based on different criteria. No Palm Beach agents appeared on the other lists.
The complete rankings are available at RealTrends.com.
