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Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate is keeping one of its top-performing affiliates after signing a long-term extension. Houston-based BHGRE Gary Greene has been with the brand for 38 years.

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January set off a real estate shuffle, with leading teams and brokers setting their alliances with new (or former) brands. However, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate has focused on retaining its top-shelf talent, signing a second long-term renewal in the past two weeks — this time with BHGRE Gary Greene.

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Ginger Wilcox

“The Better Homes & Gardens brand is iconic because it has never stopped evolving,” BHGRE President Ginger Wilcox said in a written statement. “That same mindset defines BHGRE and Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene. The brokerage is recognized across the industry as a leader because they consistently redefine how real estate is delivered. This renewal is about building the next chapter of that legacy, together.”

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene has been at the top of the leaderboard since 1963, when the eponymous owner founded the company in Houston. Greene was among the first brokers to join the brand’s first iteration, BHGRE Service, in 1978 and remained with it until Dotdash Meredith sold it in 1998.

Mark Woodroof

When Dotdash (now People, Inc.) and Realogy (now Compass International Holdings) revived the brand in 2008, BHGRE Gary Greene was again one of the first brokerages to join, and has remained with the brand ever since — a relationship that owner and CEO Mark Woodroof said he’s excited to strengthen.

“Our success has always been rooted in local ownership, principled leadership and a clear understanding that brokerages exist to serve agents, not the other way around,” he said in a prepared statement “Continuing our affiliation with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate allows us to stay true to who we are while expanding the strategic tools, technology and scale our affiliated agents need to execute at the highest level.”

In an interview with Inman, Woodroof said he’s been impressed with BHGRE’s progress over the past few years, as Wilcox leans into the brand’s lifestyle and consumer-trends background.

“You go back to the historical view of Better Homes and Gardens, with the cookbook recipes and the magazine … that was the brand for your parents’ generation,” he said. “But, you know, lo and behold, you look at the brand today and how it’s evolved in terms of lifestyle and who interacts with the brand. You can go into most people’s homes and still see the cookbook, but now, younger generations go to Pinterest, they go to social media, and they’re embracing the Better Homes and Gardens lifestyle and products.”

“And of course, more recently, there’s been a much stronger tie into real estate over the last two to three years, which is appreciated,” he added.

Woodroof said this shift has only heightened BHGRE Gary Greene’s market value, with the 800-agent brokerage closing 5,000 transactions worth $2.4 billion in 2025 — a 7 percent increase from 2024. The group is the second-largest brokerage in Houston and Texas and is among the top 100 brokerages by transaction sides and sales volume in 2025.

“We try to be that place where a serious pro that’s looking to build their business goes,” he said. “There are a ton of people that I’ll call hobbyists who aren’t that serious about what they do. They’re just doing a deal here and there. They want to go on a vacation or do whatever it is, and then they go back to their real job.

“That’s not who we are,” he added. “We’re trying to address a market need, a market demand for serious practitioners.”

The CEO said the market will continue to “thaw” in 2026, with mortgage rate and price fluctuations having a diminishing impact on consumers. He expects sales gains to hover around 4 percent — much less than the National Association of Realtors’ 14 percent forecast. Still, in Woodruff’s book, single-digit growth would constitute a good year.

“There are a lot of things that can go one way or the other,” he said. “But our best pros are growing their business a hell of a lot more. This is a competitive market, where being really good really matters.”

Email Marian McPherson

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