This article was shared here with permission from Mike DelPrete for Inman Intel, a data and research arm of Inman offering deep insights and market intelligence on the business of residential real estate and proptech. Subscribe today.
I recently wrote about learning from a new generation of brokerages, which includes the migration patterns of tens of thousands of agents across the industry.
Why it matters: Agents change brokerages for a variety of reasons — technology, compensation, support, brand — but it turns out one of the biggest factors may simply be that agents are attracted to new things.
- During 2023, agents continued to stream out of the big legacy brands for the lure of low-fee brokerage models, where agents can keep more of their commission.
Dig deeper: Aside from compensation structures, another factor appears to be at play: the average age of the brokerage.
- Real, Fathom, United, RealtyOne, Compass, and eXp Realty, with an average brokerage age of 14 years, are all attracting agents.
- While HomeServices of America, Keller Williams, RE/MAX, and Anywhere — the legacy brands with an average age of 43 years — are all losing agents.
Which raises an interesting question: why?
- Real estate agents are entrepreneurs, and like the hard-working hustlers they are, appear to always be looking for something new: new ideas, new models, and new opportunities to grow their businesses.
- New brokerages are brimming with actual and perceived potential — the potential to be more and do more for agents.
The bottom line: The industry is shifting, and one powerful trend is the migration of agents between brokerages.
- A number of factors are driving that movement, but a major determinant appears to be the relative age of the brokerage.
- Which is a timely reminder of the entrepreneurial spirit of agents and the alluring power, and potential, of something new.
Mike DelPrete is a strategic adviser and global expert in real estate tech, including Zavvie, an iBuyer offer aggregator. Connect with him on LinkedIn.
