All week, Inman is taking a Deep Dive into eXp Realty. We’re talking to key executives, unpacking the company’s strategic moves and reporting on the EXPCON event — taking place this week in Las Vegas. Stay tuned in the coming days for more on the tech-focused brokerage and for future Inman Deep Dives into other top companies.
Glenn Sanford, founder of eXp Realty and CEO of the brokerage’s parent company, said Wednesday that he expects his fast-growing firm to have half a million agents within the next five years.
“This is not that much of a stretch goal,” Sanford said.
Sanford made the comments from the main stage of EXPCON, a companywide gathering taking place this week in Las Vegas. The event has drawn thousands of agents and is the first time eXp is holding an in-person event since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
Sanford took the stage early on Wednesday with Jason Gesing, CEO of eXp Realty. The two leaders talked about growing the brand over the years, with Sanford noting that several years ago, eXp only had 10,000 agents. However, thanks to a consistent pattern of attracting teams and top agents, the company has grown its ranks to more than 68,000 agents right now. Sanford pointed to that growth and said that eXp “hasn’t grown less than 50 percent year-over-year since 2014 or 2012.”
He went on to say that on its current trajectory, eXp will hit 500,000 agents in five years.
“If you take our agent count today, and you just grow the company 50 percent year over year, it’s very doable,” Sanford said.
Glenn Sanford, left, and Jason Gesing on stage at EXPCON Wednesday. Credit: eXp Realty
Sanford has long been open about his ambitions for his company, and Wednesday’s comments — which were foreshadowed in EXPCON’s agenda — are part of an established tradition of bullish agent count projections. Just over a year ago, for instance, Sanford said that he envisioned his company hitting 100,000 agents “in the next few years.” At the time, the company had just over 50,000 agents in its ranks.
However, Sanford’s comments on Wednesday represent a significant jump, and more specific timeline, compared to prior projections. He didn’t offer any strategy specifics for hitting 500,000 agents, instead indicating that such a figure will be a natural outgrowth of eXp’s current trajectory.
Rapid and consistent growth has been a significant part of the eXp story for years now. In the lead up to EXPCON, Gesing spoke to Inman about how the company has managed to consistently attract agents, pointing to things such as the company’s healthcare options and team focus.
“We create a seamless opportunity for teams to build into other markets,” Gesing said. “They don’t have to go and negotiate with a franchisee in a different state or figure out what the additional dollars are they’ll have to pay. Everything is consistent at eXp, and it makes it really easy to expand geographically.”
