The women making powerhouse moves in real estate 

While women make up a majority of real estate professionals, a much smaller share hold executive-level positions in the industry. However, those who do currently hold top roles are making consequential moves with wide-ranging impacts.

National Association of Realtors CEO Nykia Wright landed the No. 1 spot in the Women Executives subset of the 2026 Swanepoel Power 200, the independent ranking of residential real estate's most powerful leaders published annually by T3 Sixty, after overseeing reform of the association's governance and the cleanup of its finances.

After ranking fifth among women and 34 overall in the 2025 SP 200, Wright jumped to the ninth overall spot this year — a position that reflects her growing influence and impact since she first took the reins at NAR as an industry outsider in 2023.

Real estate's top 10 most powerful women

Wright is joined on this year's list by other women who "occupy nearly every C-suite function — from CEO and co-president to brokerage operations, M&A, legal, marketing and people strategy — signaling influence across governance, capital allocation, product development and organizational culture industrywide," according to a T3 Sixty news release.

Rounding out the top 10 most powerful women are:

• Susan "Sue" Yannaccone, COO of Compass International Holdings (No. 17 overall)

• Jill Jacobi Wood, co-president of Windermere Real Estate (No. 22)

• Hilary Saunders, co-founder and chief broker officer of Side (No. 23)

• Liz Gehringer, president and CEO of franchise brands at Compass International Holdings (No. 33)

• Shannon McGahn, chief advocacy officer at the National Association of Realtors (No. 38)

• Kamini Rangappan Lane, president and CEO of Coldwell Banker Realty (No. 39)

• Bess Freedman, CEO of Brown Harris Stevens, (No. 42)

• Pamela Liebman, president and CEO of Corcoran Group (No. 43)

• Stephanie Anton, president of Corcoran Affiliates (No. 45)

Women have "continued to push for a more level playing field" in recent decades with the support of men — but their true power lies in their ability to exercise choice, Wright said.

"If they want to ascend to leadership and more company ownership, so be it. If they want to take a different direction and explore optionality in support roles, so be it," she added. "Women's progress lies in their option to choose."

Yannaccone, a former leader at Anywhere Brands who is now chief operating officer at Compass International Holdings, is No. 2 after reaching the top spot among women in 2025. Yannaccone has consistently ranked high on the SP 200 over the past few years, with spots in the top 10 overall in 2024 and 2025. Long a champion of women in real estate, Yannaccone is also the founder of What Moves Her, a support group and leadership program for women in the industry.

"At some point, the ultimate measure of success will be when we no longer feel the need to acknowledge a female leader's success as exceptional," Yannaccone said. "We've made significant progress in that direction over recent years, but the final hurdle may be recognizable by quiet acceptance, rather than celebration."

Other notable mentions from this year's list include Compass' new president, Neda Navab, who ranked No. 12 among women, and Austin Board of Realtors and Unlock MLS CEO Emily Girard at No. 21. Navab has become a rising star at Compass by playing a hand in some of its major acquisitions of late, and Girard has sought to bring her MLS into the future with a more flexible approach to launching new home listings. 

SP 200 newcomers on the rise

The 2026 SP 200 also features some new faces — including eight women:

• Valerie Paquin, chair of the Canadian Real Estate Association (No. 101 overall)

• Debra Beagle, co-owner  of REMAX Advantage (No. 164)

• Mary Lee Blaylock, president, brokerage at Sotheby's International Realty (No. 165)

• Jessica Hickok, CEO at Association of Real Estate License Law Officials (No. 170)

• Lucie Fortier, EVP of MLS solutions at ICE (No. 171)

• Hope Atuel, executive director of the Asian Real Estate Association of America (No. 182)

• Betsy Cameron, president of Ebby Halliday Companies (No. 186)

• Oralia Herrera, president of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (No. 187)

Note: Real Estate News is an editorially independent division of T3 Sixty.