Summit Sotheby’s International Realty has cemented its position as a leading Utah brokerage, placing more real estate professionals on the 2026 RealTrends Verified rankings than any other firm in the state.
The firm represented 39 of Utah’s top 100 agents by sales volume and 40% of the state’s top 25 agents.
That includes the No. 1 ranked individual agent in Utah by sales volume, Michael LaPay, who reported just over $193 million in volume. Summit Sotheby’s also counts the No. 7, No. 8 and No. 11 ranked agents among its ranks — along with three more in the top 20.
The company recorded more than $4.5 billion in 2025 sales volume.
Chief Marketing Officer Tiffany Fox attributed the firm’s performance to a consistent focus on service quality rather than scale.
“Truthfully, we’ve never set out to be the biggest, but we’ve set out to be the best,” she told HousingWire. “What that looks like for us is kind of putting blinders up and ignoring what any other real estate firm or brokerage or trend is happening, and focusing on what our mission statement has been, which is to provide our advisors with world-class exceptional real estate support that is highly innovative.”
Founded in 2008 by Thomas Wright — who serves as CEO and principal broker — the firm has grown to just shy of 300 advisors serving the entire state of Utah.
Its footprint spans urban markets in the greater Salt Lake City area, destination ski communities like Park City and Deer Valley as well as desert markets including Moab and St. George.
Recent innovations
Fox said the brokerage recently deployed a suite of new technology communication platforms designed to give advisors real-time access to marketing efforts.
“We developed an entire platform because we interviewed so many technology platforms with the innovations that we’ve really wanted to go after, and what we determined is that none of those platforms, with all due respect to them, were good enough for our advisors in the way that we coach them to do business,” she said. “We built in-house — from the ground up — an entire platform to replace old platforms for them to a be able to communicate more effectively.
“Think of it like as a pizza tracker with Domino’s. You know where your pizza is or you know where your Uber driver is. Same story with all of the marketing efforts on any of their listings.”
Summit Sotheby’s maintains a 40-person in-house creative agency and has deployed additional videography and photography services to help agents position their properties.
The firm also employs what it calls a “property launch” strategy designed to create an authoritative first impression.
“We know that you only have one opportunity to make a first impression online,” Fox said. “Anyone can place an ad and have thousands and thousands of views on a property, but are those views qualified? Most of the time, no. That’s a lot of why our agents perform at the level in which they do, is because we don’t treat our business like the industry norms in any capacity.
“We generate more eyes, more interest, more understanding and knowledge of our properties than our competitors. Then, the proof is sort of in the pudding of the results.”
Communication as a foundation
Fox emphasized that the firm’s approach to client communication transcends price points and market segments.
The brokerage provides a communication report to every client that breaks down every portion of the transaction — including marketing efforts in chronological order, showing feedback, open house data, online traffic and zip code analytics.
“We deliver that every single week, and we have found, regardless of area or price point, that it truly differentiates us,” said Fox. “It also eliminates so many of the questions, the anxiety, the fears, and calms the entire situation down.”
For high-end luxury clients, the conversation shifts to lifestyle aspirations.
“When we really do [insert] ourselves into that super high luxury market, no one truly needs a $40 million property,” Fox said. “These are lifestyle decisions that people are making. Our conversations with them can be described as, ‘Wave your magic wand. What does your perfect day look like?’ Because, especially when we look in a ski marketplace, there’s a wide variety.
“There’s questions like, are your children skiers or snowboarders? We have skiers only mountains and there are skier and snowboarder mountains. How private do you want to be? What about land? Are you okay being 20 or 30 minutes up the mountain and away from gas stations and grocery stores?”
Utah’s market momentum
The firm’s success comes as Utah continues to attract buyers from coastal markets and beyond.
Fox pointed to major developments including the impending return of the Olympic Games to the greater Salt Lake City area and significant ski resort expansion work.
“We are so fortunate to call Utah home because of that differing lifestyle component, but also the investment that the state makes into growth and new business,” she said. “Because of all of these things, our demand continues to increase and to remain steady.”
Salt Lake City International Airport, which recently underwent a multi-billion-dollar renovation, has increased direct flights to major markets and European destinations.
Fox also noted the growth of “Silicon Slopes,” where companies like Adobe have established major hubs — bringing workforce relocations from coastal areas.
“Those nuances are what continue to make Utah one of best places to live, where people are moving to,” she said. “We’re seeing immense traction, properties going under contract, property selling, cash buyers and traditional financing buyers as well. Our market continues to thrive, despite what you may hear in the headlines.
“We handle the entire buyer and seller spectrum. It’s a luxury experience and a luxury brand of delivery, regardless of area or price point.”
