Sotheby’s International Realty ranks highest in trust among national residential real estate brokerages according to Lifestory Research 2015 America’s Most Trusted Residential Real Estate Brokerage Study. Sotheby’s was the most trusted residential real estate brokerage among consumers actively shopping for a new home in the United States.

“Trust is the new currency by which consumers judge the brands they use when shopping for a new home,” said Lifestory Research President and CEO Eric Snider. “When consumers consider the sale of their home, or the purchase a new home, they seek out those brands with whom they have trust.” The Lifestory Research America’s Most Trusted Residential Real Estate Brokerage Study tracks the top brands serving markets in the United States. To qualify for inclusion in the national ranking of the Lifestory Research 2015 America’s Most Trusted Residential Real Estate Brokerage Study, a brokerage brand had to be among the top 15 recognized brands in the United States. Consumers in the study were those that had been actively shopping for a home during the last 90 days.

Sotheby’s International Realty is part of Realogy, a real estate franchising and provider of real estate brokerage services. Sotheyby’s has approximately 730 franchise company owned offices globally, and more than 16,000 independent sales associates in 56 countries and territories.

As the 2015 Lifestory Research America’s Most Trusted Residential Real Estate Brokerage, Sotheby’s produced the highest Net Trust Quotient Score, followed in order by (2) Long & Foster, (3) Weichert, (4) Windermere, (5) ReMax, (6) Coldwell Banker, (7) Century 21, (8) Keller Williams, (9) Prudential, (10) Realty Executives, (11) Zip Realty, (12) Better Homes and Gardens, (13) ERA, (14) Berkshire Hathaway, and (15) Realty One Group.

The study evaluates attitudes from thousands of consumers who are actively in the process of shopping for a new home. Trust is measured through the Lifestory Research Net Trust Quotient Score. This score is based on the fundamental perspective that every organization’s customer can be divided into three categories: “advocates,” who feel a significant trust toward a given brand; “neutrals,” who trust a specific brand, but do not see a specific brand as standing on the shoulders of other brands in regards to trust; and “antagonists,” who are skeptics with little, if any, trust in a specific brand. Scores are standardized with 100 being equal to the overall average.

Detailed information about the study can be found at www.lifestoryresearch.com/most-trusted/