Lake Homes Realty, the nation’s largest lake-focused brokerage, is aiming to change how waterfront property transactions are handled, according to CEO Glenn Phillips. In a recent interview, Phillips described the company’s strategy for consolidating fragmented waterfront markets and addressing persistent challenges in specialty real estate.
Phillips, who moved from software engineering to real estate entrepreneurship, explained how the company’s origins shaped its approach. “An investment banker who was involved with this company before, in its early stages when it was really just a struggling startup, asked me and Doris Phillips – our chief operating officer, who came from title and closing – to take a look at it,” Phillips said. “He saw it as an intersection of tech and real estate. At first, we were just asked for our opinion on what was meant to be a portal to generate leads. We told them it had flaws, but if you made it a brokerage, that might be an innovative idea.”
After 15 months of market analysis, Phillips and his team launched Lake Homes Realty, which has since expanded to operate in 39 states.
Phillips said the company’s platform addresses the scattered nature of waterfront property marketing by consolidating listings from numerous MLS systems. “We aggregate from about 160 to 570 MLSs to combine the listings. In some markets, four MLSs might have property on the same lake. If you’re an agent who’s only a member of one MLS, you might not even see all the properties in your own area,” Phillips said.
By collecting waterfront listings from multiple MLS systems nationwide, Lake Homes Realty creates a single marketplace for buyers and sellers, giving access to properties that would otherwise remain isolated in separate regional databases.
Phillips highlighted several factors that set Lake Homes Realty apart from traditional brokerages, starting with a focus on agent quality over quantity. Rather than expanding headcount, the firm concentrates on developing a smaller group of high-performing agents capable of capturing meaningful market share.
This strategy is supported by technology-driven efficiency, with websites designed as data systems first and consumer-facing platforms second, ensuring that tools are built to genuinely improve the buyer experience. Phillips also emphasized the company’s niche market focus, using technology to aggregate lake, beach, and mountain properties, assets that are typically fragmented and sought by remote buyers, into a single platform that offers better search capabilities and stronger guidance for consumers.
Lake Homes Realty’s approach has expanded options for both buyers and sellers in the waterfront property market. By aggregating listings from multiple MLS systems, buyers gain access to properties they might have missed using traditional search methods. Sellers, meanwhile, benefit from broader exposure to qualified buyers who are specifically searching for waterfront homes, rather than relying on general real estate portals.
Phillips acknowledged the difficulties of scaling a niche-focused brokerage, particularly when competing against larger companies with greater financial resources. “We’ve done all this without raising capital, so we’re competing with portals that are spending hundreds of millions of dollars, and we’re not, but we’re able to go head to head with them in the market,” he said.
The company’s solution has been to maintain a lean operational model that emphasizes technology efficiency over a large agent roster, allowing them to compete effectively despite limited capital.
Phillips said Lake Homes Realty is expanding its aggregation model to new recreational property categories. “We also launched Beach-Homes.com and Beach Homes Realty in several states – I think it’s 15 or so, I’ve lost count – and that’s new, but we’re starting to see traction,” he said. The company has also launched Mountain Homes Realty, now operating in 19 or 20 states, extending their model to mountain properties.
By applying their technology-driven approach to additional real estate niches, Lake Homes Realty aims to bring more fragmented property types into unified marketplaces, creating more efficient transactions for buyers and sellers across the country.
