HousingWire and MAXA Designs are proud to partner for the 2025 Exhibit Awards, a national awards platform recognizing standout real estate — and now mortgage — branding and design. First launched in 2022, Exhibit was built on a simple idea: great branding doesn’t just make a brokerage look good. It drives clarity, culture, and business value. Today, the awards have grown into the most visible stage for creative excellence across the industry.
The Exhibit Awards shine a spotlight on brokerages that lead with strategy, creativity, and consistency. Through intentional design and authentic storytelling, these brands elevate their marketing, empower their agents, and set new industry standards. Backed by HousingWire’s national reach and MAXA’s reputation as the #1 rated real estate marketing and design automation platform, the awards continue to evolve into the definitive benchmark for modern real estate and mortgage branding.
Celebrating strategic, thoughtful, purpose-driven branding
Each year, Exhibit honors standout brands across four regions — West Coast, Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast — highlighting those who push creative boundaries and demonstrate a unified, compelling identity. From logo systems and typography to messaging, digital presence, and campaign execution, the awards celebrate brokerages that tell a clear and cohesive brand story across every medium.
But Exhibit represents more than recognition. It is a celebration of the creative and marketing teams behind the work — teams who transform their brands through thoughtful design and strategic storytelling. These teams often shape much more than the aesthetic of a brokerage; they influence culture, unlock business value, and spark community impact that extends far beyond the screen or print piece.
Whether you’re an independent brokerage or a local franchise that has crafted your own identity, Exhibit is your opportunity to gain national visibility, share your voice, and inspire the next chapter of real estate and mortgage branding.
Bigger than ever: Expanded categories for 2025
The 2025 Exhibit Awards mark the biggest expansion in the program’s history.
Double the real estate winners
For the first time, Exhibit will honor eight real estate winners, doubling the recognition from prior years.
Each region will now award two winners:
- Brokerages under 1,000 agents
- Brokerages over 1,000 agents
This expanded structure allows Exhibit to recognize both emerging brands and large-scale brokerages that have built remarkable, high-impact identities.
Introducing the mortgage branding awards
In response to industry demand, Exhibit is opening submissions for mortgage companies for the first time ever.
The mortgage category will include five total winners:
- One winner per region, plus
- One national award, honoring brands that operate — and inspire — on a national scale.
With this expansion, Exhibit becomes the first national platform to jointly celebrate excellence in both real estate and mortgage branding.
Meet the 2025 judging panel
To evaluate the submissions, Exhibit has assembled its most influential judging panel to date — 10 top industry leaders whose expertise spans branding, marketing, technology, brokerage leadership, and mortgage innovation:
- James Wong – CEO & Founder, MAXA
- Clayton Collins – CEO, HousingWire
- Marc Davidson – Co-Founder, 1000watt
- Jodi Hall – CEO & President, The Mortgage Collaborative
- Don Hobbs – Co-Founder of Hobbs & Herder, Pioneer of Agent Marketing & Realtor Branding
- Kevin Van Eck – Strategic Advisor at Mavericks
- Tristan Ahumada – Founder, LabCoat Agents; People’s Editor, Success Magazine
- James Duncan – Founder, Caelum Advisers
- Effie Atsaves – VP of Marketing, Leading Real Estate Companies of the World
- Joe Welu – Founder, Total Expert
This panel brings together decades of expertise and a cross-industry lens, ensuring each submission is evaluated with rigor, insight, and a deep respect for creative excellence.
Recognition that elevates your brand
Winners of the 2025 Exhibit Awards will receive a complete recognition package designed to spotlight their brand on both a national and industry-wide stage:
Live on-stage recognition
Winners will be flown out and recognized live on stage at The Gathering on April 27, 2026, at the Omni Barton Creek in Austin, Texas. This premier moment places your brand in front of the most influential leaders in real estate and mortgage.
The 2025 Exhibit Award trophy
Each winner receives a beautifully crafted trophy symbolizing creative excellence and industry leadership.
Custom award plaque
A wall-mounted plaque designed for your office, celebrating your team’s achievement and inspiring continued creative leadership.
Digital winner’s badge
A digital badge for your website, email signatures, marketing materials, and social media — instantly signaling your award-winning status.
Full case study feature
Every winner will receive a professionally produced Case Study highlighting their submission, showcasing what made their brand stand out, and offering expert insights from the judging panel.
National media spotlight
Winners will be featured across HousingWire and MAXA Designs’ digital platforms, generating an estimated 2,000,000+ combined impressions, including premium articles and social coverage.
Submissions now open
Entries for the 2025 Exhibit Awards are officially open.
Deadline to submit: February 5, 2026
Submit at ExhibitAwards.com
If your team has elevated your brand, pushed creative boundaries, or reimagined who you are — this is your moment to be recognized. The future of real estate and mortgage branding starts here.