James Wong started MAXA at 20. He is 33 now, leading a 100-person company that powers 250+ enterprise brands and more than 400,000 sales professionals across real estate and mortgage. HousingWire has named him to the 2026 Rising Stars class, its annual recognition of housing professionals under 40 who are making a measurable difference in the industry.
It is his second HousingWire recognition in two years. He received the 2025 Tech Trendsetter award last year.
The past 12 months produced some of MAXA's most significant work. In November 2025, MAXA launched a dedicated platform for REAL Brokerage, one of the fastest-growing publicly traded brokerages in North America. The MAXA x Real platform gave REAL's 30,000+ agents access to MLS-integrated listing automation, AI-powered marketing workflows, and more than 500 purpose-built templates. Inman and HousingWire both covered the launch. Real's CMO, Dre Madden, said in the announcement that MAXA is "built for real estate."
Earlier in 2025, MAXA signed FirstTeam Real Estate and deepened existing relationships with PennyMac, Lower, HomeSmart, William Raveis, and AD Mortgage. Year-over-year growth accelerated from 30% to 45% during this period.
Industry recognition followed. Inman named MAXA a 2025 Innovator Award Finalist in Most Innovative Marketing Solution. Inman and T3 Sixty named MAXA a 2025 Top Tech for Brokerages across three categories: Marketing Center, Content Marketing, and AI. Leading Real Estate Companies of the World selected MAXA as a 2025 Solutions Partner.
James also co-founded the Exhibit Awards, the only national awards program dedicated to brand design excellence in real estate and mortgage. He launched it in 2022 with T3 Sixty, hosted the ceremony at the T3 Tech Summit for three consecutive years, and in 2025 brought HousingWire on as the official media partner. The 2025 ceremony moves to The Gathering in Austin in April 2026.
MAXA has grown every year for 13 consecutive years without outside funding. James still personally hires every member of the team. Six people from his founding group recently received their 10-year anniversary awards.
Congratulations, James.
