Matthew Sharman, team leader of The Sharman Team at Real Broker NY LLC, has been recognized in three categories of the 2026 RateMyAgent Awards: County Winner, Agent of the Year for Livingston County, New York; City Winner, Agent of the Year for Conesus Lake; and State Winner, Top 10 Agent in New York. These honors, announced August 28, 2026, are notable because the RateMyAgent Awards are determined by verified client reviews tied to completed transactions, not by sales volume alone.
According to the RateMyAgent program, which launched in the United States in 2021, winners are selected based on how clients rated their experience working with an agent. This approach shifts the focus from sheer transaction numbers to the quality of service as perceived by buyers and sellers. Sharman's three awards place him among the most highly reviewed real estate professionals in New York State, reflecting consistent client satisfaction across his market.
Sharman leads a team specializing in waterfront and lake-access properties across Conesus Lake, Honeoye Lake, Silver Lake, and the western Finger Lakes, as well as the greater Rochester market and the GLOW region (Genesee, Livingston, Ontario, Orleans, and Wyoming counties). His practice emphasizes technical details that distinguish one waterfront property from another, such as usable frontage versus recorded frontage, water depth and lake bottom, lot orientation, dock and breakwater condition, and shared-access and easement arrangements. These factors are critical for buyers seeking clarity on what they are purchasing.
In response to the awards, Sharman highlighted the significance of client-driven recognition. "These awards are decided by clients, not by a spreadsheet, and that is what makes them mean something to me," he said. "Every review behind them came from someone who trusted our team with a decision that mattered – a family buying their first place on the water, or a seller letting go of a cottage that has been in the family for forty years. Getting that right takes local knowledge and a lot of homework."
Sharman's deep roots in the region, having been born and raised there and working alongside his father who has been a licensed agent for five decades, provide a long-term perspective on the western Finger Lakes market. This continuity helps the team understand how historical changes affect current property values. "Buyers on Conesus Lake are more selective than they have ever been," Sharman added. "They deserve someone who can tell them exactly what they are buying, down to the foot of frontage."
The implications of this recognition are significant for the local real estate market. For consumers, it signals that agents like Sharman prioritize client satisfaction and transparent dealings, which is particularly important in niche markets like waterfront properties where details matter immensely. For the industry, it underscores a growing trend toward reputation-based evaluation over traditional metrics like sales volume, potentially influencing how agents market themselves and how buyers choose representation. As RateMyAgent continues to operate in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, its awards could become a benchmark for professional excellence in real estate.
