Above, Brian Miranda, left, and Willie Miranda
Even as a youngster, the business wheels were turning in Willie Miranda’s head. As the oldest of three brothers, he worked as a teenager at fast food restaurants and pumped gas at a local station. But first, at age eight, he had a paper route, and decided brothers Brian and Chris would make excellent employees. Brian jokingly relates the details.
“Willie was our first boss,” he says. “Even as a kid he was an entrepreneur. He would negotiate our ‘wages,’ paying us with candy bars. He had us delivering papers in exchange for either candy or other small, big brother favors.”
Fast forward decades and times have certainly changed, not to mention the remuneration. With Willie as founder and principal broker/owner and Brian vice president and chief operating officer, Miranda Real Estate Group has over the past 20 years become the largest independent brokerage in the upstate New York Capital District market. The numbers include over 14,000 homes sold, for more than $3.5 billion.
And with a new operation in Southwest Florida, Miranda Group Florida at Premiere Plus Realty, and a combined total of over 150 agents, there’s no slowing down.
The brothers started their careers in different industries. Willie, now 58, started in the real estate business in 1998 after initially owning an Allstate insurance franchise. Brian, 54, began his career in banking and accounting before joining Willie in 2006. Early on they knew that someday they’d like to join forces.
“We had family in New York City and would spend hours in the car going back and forth from upstate New York to visit relatives,” says Brian. “We would talk shop. He would talk about real estate and insurance, and I would tell him what’s going on in the banking world. We always looked for an opportunity to work together.”
After having worked in real estate part time to supplement his income, Willie launched Miranda Real Estate Group 30 years ago, finding success almost immediately. Brian, after a company merger required him to move to Chicago, decided instead to join with Willie.
“We made a pact that day that it’s family first, business second,” he says. “I know that he is the principal broker/owner, founder and leader of this company. I don’t try to step on his toes or pretend to be something I’m not. I’m glad that I was able to go on this journey with him and grow with the company.”
Willie’s achievements extend further than his company. He is the author of the book, “How to Not Get Your Ass Kicked in the Real Estate Business.” Additionally, he is president of Miranda Charity, Corp., which has raised over $500,000 for the Bernard & Millie Duker Children’s Hospital at Albany Medical Center, and the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Capital Region. While happy to do as much as he can for people, he is totally focused on continuing to grow Miranda Real Estate Group in 2026 and beyond.
“First and foremost, the plan right now is to take care of the agents we have, to make sure we’re constantly training them on the latest and greatest tech tools to help grow their business within our business,” he says. “Not everyone gets to work here. We let every agent candidate know that we don’t want people here to just park their licenses. We want people who can grow with us in our culture and reflect what our culture represents.”
While the industry had a down year in 2025 and there are no obvious signs that a big rebound is on the horizon, Willie is nevertheless determined that for his company at least there will be only good things going forward.
“We’ve been kind of just pushing and pushing with the wind in our face to where now I think it’s kind of subsided a little bit and we’re going to have the wind at our back, with interest rates adjusting,” he says. “I don’t think they’re going to come down to four or below, but getting them into the mid-fives over the next couple of years is going to help. We took our medicine over the last three years. We’ve been fortunate because where a lot of companies have been stale or losing market share, we’ve actually gone up 21% this past year.”
RISMedia Founder and CEO John Featherston recently connected with the Mirandas at a broker thinktank on mergers and acquisitions hosted by Anthony Lamacchia in Boston late last year. He came away super impressed.
“Willie and Brian personify our real estate industry,” says Featherston. “They are consummate professionals, together having more than 50 years’ experience serving their communities’ real estate needs. What impressed me the most about them was their leadership qualities and belief in the future of the residential real estate industry. They are determined to make sure their firm is best positioned to succeed when the marketplace improves.
“The fire Willie had 30 years ago when he started the company still burns bright, and there’s no doubt that under his direction Miranda Real Estate Group will continue to provide an environment that fosters professional development and a home for sales associates seeking to work with a foundationally sound organization,” Featherston adds. “They’re a prime example of how brokerage leaders are carving new and better pathways for success in our extremely competitive industry.”
Brian, who is responsible for overseeing the company’s communications, financial systems, network and technical support, points out that there is even more to the Miranda success story.
“Willie has a strong background in coaching, and I used to say that Miranda Real Estate Group is kind of like a laboratory because of his coaching experience,” he says. “We were able to network and mastermind. And that’s actually how we met Anthony Lamacchia, mixing and mingling with people in other markets.
“We would try things here in our market, and if they worked, Willie would share them in coaching and networking. And now he has a separate coaching company, Ultimate Real Estate Success Blueprint. A lot of the things that we share here we offer to the real estate community, and indirectly it puts us in front of people. We’re on a growth trajectory right now, and the way we’re doing it is mostly organically by having trainings and sessions in the community.”
