An Unexpected American Dream
Eddie Garcia never intended to lead a multi-billion-dollar nationwide real estate business. After successfully building one of the top real estate companies in Chicago, his plan was simple: marriage, family, a home on a quiet mountain where he could build a new kind of success. But his dreams had other plans.
Realty of America is Eddie’s dream, a company he co-founded in late 2024 with Mark Dimas, one of the nation’s top realtors. We’re excited to celebrate the remarkable growth of Realty of America as we honor them with this year’s Bravo Growth Award and share the powerful story behind their success.
The Beginning
A son of immigrant parents, Eddie knows life below the poverty line better than most executives. His father brought the family to Chicago, where they shared a one-bedroom apartment with 11 other people. Undocumented until 13, Eddie watched the path ahead of him take shape and decided early on to break the cycle.
“I share that story because it really defined who I wanted to become,” he explained. “I wanted to become a successful businessperson and create my version of the American dream.”
His road to real estate wasn’t easy; his first experience left him taken advantage of and penniless. But Eddie learned about integrity, generosity and how he could—once again—choose to live a different life than what had been modeled for him. His next attempt at real estate was a powerful launching pad, and by the age of 26, Eddie was a millionaire.
He brought childhood friends onto his new path, creating opportunity and breaking cycles of poverty in his community. He scaled Realty of Chicago into the 11th largest real estate company in the city; built out a full portfolio of supporting businesses; and by his late thirties was ready to step back and live that mountaintop family dream. But one evening would change all of that.
The Dream
In July 2023, just when Eddie was set to retire, he woke from a larger-than-life dream. He’d had a vision of Realty of America, a virtual, national brokerage with a revenue-sharing model that could redefine the real estate experience. That morning, he called Mark Dimas and shared his vision for the company.
“I said, ‘I think if we joined forces—if you close your company; I close my company; and we unite—we could build a national brokerage.’”
One year, countless conversations, a powerhouse team and solid plan later, Realty of America opened in September 2024, launching in 23 markets.
“Every person on our leadership team was handpicked,” he explained. “Each is one of the best mentors, one of the best builders—just great humans with incredible stories. We call ourselves the Avengers.”
This powerful team has achieved more in its short history than most brokerages will ever see. In 2025, Realty of America reported nearly $4B in transaction volume and more than $4.5M paid out in revenue share.
Eddie believes ROA’s success lies in the revenue-sharing model, the magnetism of his leadership team and the collaborative agent culture that’s truly rare in the competitive world of real estate.
“The older version of real estate was very siloed. Our version of the world is that there’s enough money for everybody.”
The Vision
With no debt and no investors other than Eddie himself, Realty of America has huge goals for 2026 and beyond.
When Eddie and Mark launched the business, they hoped to onboard 5,000 agents and pursue a public offering within five years, but ROA’s momentum has exceeded every target. Today, they’re targeting 7,000 agents, $8B-$10B in revenue and 10 new states—all in 2026. Powered by in-house technology that makes onboarding and remote work frictionless, the company is ready for more explosive growth this year.
But that doesn’t mean Eddie’s mountaintop dream has fallen by the wayside. He and his wife purchased their mountain home in late 2025 and will welcome their daughter this spring.
“I never wanted to be the richest person in the world,” Eddie shared. “I just wanted to get out of poverty. So now that God blessed me with all this, I wanted to make sure that I was able to leverage that and help others become successful. And in business, you can’t become successful if you’re the only one making money.”
Our congratulations to Eddie, Mark and the entire Realty of America team on this exciting award!
From the May/June 2026 issue of Direct Selling News magazine.
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