2026 GameChanger: How CENTURY 21 DeAnna Realty grew 110% and still kept its culture

Between 2021 and 2025, despite market headwinds, as well as macroeconomic and industry challenges, Tony DeAnna and his team at CENTURY 21 DeAnna Realty, recorded 110% transaction side growth. This performance earned the firm the No. 6 rank in the 2026 RealTrend Verified GameChanger rankings.

DeAnna, who founded the firm with his father and his college roommate, attributes the growth of his firm to a combination of M&A and organic growth. During this five year period, DeAnna said his firm completed five M&A deals. 

“When we started the firm, it was just the three of us and we wanted to grow, but we didn’t want to do it the wrong way,” DeAnna said. “For us, the right way meant that even though we knew there would be changes throughout the system as we expanded, we didn’t want to lose that close-knit feeling within the group. So many companies talk about camaraderie and office culture as something they work on, but for us we actually really focus on it.” 

In regards to choosing M&A partners, DeAnna said this meant they were more focused on finding partners that fit in well with their existing culture.

“We never had a criteria for number of sales or volume or anything like that,” he said. “First and foremost, we wanted to make sure that the agents that were merging with us were happy and excited and that the move would also be good for our current agents.” 

So far, DeAnna said this approach has garnered not only positive growth results for the company, but also ensured that it has fostered a “collaborative culture where no one is afraid to raise their hand and ask a question.” 

Never lose sight of organic growth

But while much of the firm’s growth had been led by M&A, DeAnna said they try to never lose sight of internal and organic growth. 

“We focus on the individual agent because there are so many different ways agents can get business and run things,” DeAnna said. “We lay out some of the options for them and help them find what interests them the most, but we never want anyone to feel like they have to fit some sort of mold.” 

This means that DeAnna and his team spend a lot of time meeting one-on-one with agents helping them work towards their goals and increase production. 

Although these strategies help with agent retention, when it comes to mergers, DeAnna said they employ other strategies to help prevent agent breakage. This mainly consists of DeAnna and his team avoiding changing anything for the merging agents “unless it is necessary.” 

“We keep the current staff that was at the previous company, and we keep the systems in place,” DeAnna said. “We, of course, put our own spin on things, but we try not to make a bunch of changes because if we are doing a merger, that means we were interested in and liked their company and their people. So, if it isn’t broken, just leave it alone.” 

This approach, DeAnna said, has led to successful mergers with minimal agent breakage. 

Looking back on how his firm has successfully navigated the market turmoil of the past five years, DeAnna also attributes much of the company’s success to the support of its entire ownership group, including his dad Mike DeAnna, as well as the CENTURY 21 corporate leadership team. 

“I have so many agents that come over to us from other companies who say they felt like they were just a number or that they never met their broker or manager and that isn’t the case here,” DeAnna said. “There are certain things we all focus on, but we are all out there meeting one-on-one with agents and finding ways to support them and their businesses.” 

According to DeAnna, all of this work goes back to a shared goal of helping their agents be the best they can be, so they can serve their clients to the best of their ability. 

“We’ve had our growing pains, but we have gotten all of these systems in place over the years and everyone has their role, knows what they are doing and importantly, knows what everyone else is doing,” he said. “We have always maintained a growth mindset and are content with what we have built, but are always looking down the road.”