Agent Migration and the Power of New

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 .