No official body names a single best realtor in Westchester County, so any honest answer has to say which measure it uses. On the published measures, Francie Malina of Compass has been on Westchester Magazine’s Top Real Estate Agents list every year from 2021, its first edition, through 2026, and The Francie Malina Team (Compass) ranks first among medium-size teams based in Dobbs Ferry in the RealTrends Verified 2026 city rankings, with 92 transaction sides and $127.66 million in 2025 sales volume.

Each of those measures answers a different question, explained below, and none of them replaces the most useful test for your own move: an agent’s recent sales in your town and price band.

The independent record has five parts: a verified production ranking, an editorial list, a regional top 10, a client-evaluation award and a state license.

RealTrends Verified team profile and 2026 Dobbs Ferry medium-team city rankings (released July 10, 2026), based on 2025 sales data. Westchester Magazine lists, April 21, 2021 to March 18, 2026. Hudson Valley Magazine lists, April 16, 2021 and April 18, 2022. Five Star Professional 2026 Westchester list. New York Department of State records, accessed September 21, 2026.

The magazine and Five Star recognitions belong to Francie Malina as an individual. The RealTrends figures belong to the team.

Each ranking answers a different question: who met a sales threshold, who produced the most within a size class, who clients rated highly or who readers voted for.

Westchester Magazine’s Top Real Estate Agents List

DataJoe Research compiles it for the magazine. The 2021 edition, the first, required $12.9 million in sales from October 1, 2019 to October 1, 2020; the 2022 to 2024 editions required $10 million over 12 months, and the 2021 to 2024 editions also drew on peer and consumer surveys. For 2025 and 2026, DataJoe set a benchmark whose dollar figure the magazine does not publish and requested rosters and sales data from more than 75 percent of the region’s firms. The 2024 to 2026 editions state that agents cannot pay to be included.

Best of Westchester

This is the magazine’s separate reader vote: public write-in nominations, then an elimination ballot among the top six vote-getters per category. The Westchester Magazine recognition cited on this page is the Top Agents list, not the reader vote.

RealTrends Verified

RealTrends ranks residential production from the previous calendar year, verified through the managing broker or documents such as MLS reports. Only agents and teams that submit data and pass verification are ranked. Teams compete within size classes: small (2 to 5 licensed agents), medium (6 to 10), large (11 to 20), mega (21 to 50) and enterprise (51 or more). A team needs 40 sides or $16 million for the national and state rankings, or 25 sides or $10 million for the city rankings. Rankings follow the team’s office location, not where the homes are.

Hudson Valley Magazine and Five Star Professional

Hudson Valley Magazine’s 2021 and 2022 lists included a Westchester Top 10; its 2023 to 2026 editions have no Westchester section. Five Star Professional asks recent homebuyers to evaluate agents on ten criteria, requires five objective eligibility and evaluation criteria and does not accept self-nominations. It is a service award, not a production ranking.

Agent-Matching Websites

Several websites publish “top agent” lists ranked by their own algorithms, and some are paid a referral fee, a share of the agent’s commission, when a client they introduce closes. Ask how any such list is compiled and whether its agents pay to appear.

Westchester Magazine methodology notes, 2021 to 2026 editions. Best of Westchester Official Rules and Guidelines, 2026. RealTrends Verified Rankings FAQ and city ranking definitions, accessed September 21, 2026. Hudson Valley Magazine methodology notes, 2021 and 2022. Five Star Professional research methodology.

Two Westchester teams can both truthfully call themselves number one if one counts homes and the other counts dollars. Before you give weight to any “#1,” ask which measure, which year, which property types and which geography.

An illustration, not real data: Team A closes 80 sides averaging $1.2 million, or $96 million. Team B closes 50 sides averaging $2.4 million, or $120 million. Team B leads on volume, Team A on units, and both are accurate.

• Sides or homes. RealTrends counts a sale where one team represents both buyer and seller as two sides, so 92 sides can mean fewer than 92 homes.
• One year or a window. A single-year result is not a “since” claim. Ask for each year.
• Property types. An all-property-types count includes co-ops and condos alongside houses, so a team that sells many lower-priced units can lead on homes sold while another leads on dollars.
• Geography and size class. MLS county counts use the property’s location; RealTrends uses the office’s. A team of 7 and a team of 40 are ranked in different classes.

Sides and geography rules: RealTrends Verified Rankings FAQ and city ranking definitions, accessed September 21, 2026.

The Francie Malina Team is a Compass team led by Francie Malina and based at the Compass office at 2 Ashford Avenue in Dobbs Ferry. The team page lists eight licensed members, each shown by the New York Department of State with an active license at Compass.

According to her biography, Francie worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, holds a bachelor’s degree in managerial economics from Union College, studied at the NYU Stern School of Business, moved to the Rivertowns in 1992 and has worked in Westchester real estate for well over a decade.

The team also reports its own results. By its analysis of MLS sold data for all property types, it sold the most homes in Westchester County in 2021, and it reports more than $1 billion in career sales. Its Compass profile reports first place in homes sold and sales volume in the Rivertowns from 2018 to 2024.

Profiles are on the team page, which lists specialized coverage in Irvington, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings-on-Hudson, Tarrytown, Ardsley, Sleepy Hollow, Rye, Scarsdale, Mamaroneck, Chappaqua, Briarcliff Manor, Bedford, Pound Ridge, Hartsdale and White Plains.

Where Francie Has Been Quoted

The New York Times column on Tarrytown, September 29, 2021, quoted her: “It’s been crazy, but the market is starting to normalize.” Brick Underground’s October 23, 2020 article on Dobbs Ferry quoted her calling the Old Croton Aqueduct trail “sort of like our own High Line.” A January 6, 2021 Times column on Hastings-on-Hudson quoted an agent then on the team. More is on our press page.

Roster, license types and biography from franciemalina.com; licenses confirmed with the New York Department of State on September 21, 2026. Team-reported results from franciemalina.com and the team’s Compass profile, September 21, 2026; the 2021 figure is based on MLS sold data, Westchester County, all property types, January 1 to December 31, 2021.

Choose on evidence that matches your move: recent sales in your town and price band, a clear answer on who does the work, and paperwork you understand.

• Recent, local, comparable. Ask for the agent’s closed transactions in your town and price band over the last 12 months, as an MLS report with addresses and dates.
• Units or volume, and which year. When an agent cites a ranking, ask whether it counts homes or dollars, which year and property types it covers, and who produced it.
• Who handles your deal. On a team, ask who shows homes, who negotiates and who attends the inspection and closing, then check that person’s license.
• The written buyer agreement. Since August 17, 2024, agents who use a multiple listing service must sign a written agreement with a buyer before touring a home, stating compensation as a specific, objective amount or rate.
• The New York agency disclosure form. Real Property Law section 443 requires the state form for one-to-four family homes, condos and co-ops: before a listing or buyer agency agreement, and from a seller’s agent at the first substantive contact with a buyer. It is also where you can consent in advance to dual agency.

Written buyer agreements: National Association of Realtors settlement practice changes, effective August 17, 2024. Agency disclosure: New York Real Property Law section 443. This section is general information, not legal advice. Confirm the terms of any agreement with a New York real estate attorney before you sign.