Crye-Leike Real Estate Services, the nation's fifth-largest independent residential real estate firm, maintained its position as the "Top Residential Real Estate Agency" in Arkansas in 2016, as ranked by Arkansas Business.

This weekly business newspaper, based in Little Rock, Ark., released its annual survey of 2016 sales production results of real estate firms across the state in its June 19, 2017 edition.

Arkansas Business reported that Crye-Leike, "the perennial No. 1," retained its spot atop the list with 2016 sales production increasing almost 4 percent to $1.26 billion last year.

Crye-Leike, founded in Memphis in 1977, opened its first office in Arkansas in Jonesboro in 1999, and expanded into Little Rock in 2002. The company has 25 company-owned offices in Arkansas, including six franchise offices.

The ranking comes at a time when Crye-Leike's continued growth and success has reached pinnacle milestones - its 40th anniversary and 25th year of expansion outside its Memphis, Tenn. hometown.

Established in 1977 in Memphis, Crye-Leike expanded into Nashville in 1992, the start of regional expansion that has grown the firm into the largest residential real estate firm in Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and the Mid-South, and the fifth-largest independent real estate firm in the nation.

Crye-Leike (www.crye-leike.com), with more than 3,100 sales associates, 800 employees and 126 company-owned and franchise offices spread across nine states and Puerto Rico, generated $6.36 billion in sales volume in 2016 - its biggest year ever - and is on track to achieve the company's goal of $6.7 billion in sales volume this year.