As agents and leaders process what the Real Brokerage’s plan to acquire REMAX means for them, some might look to Anywhere’s acquisition by Compass International Holdings for clues.
In some areas, they can expect almost no change. In others, they may feel pressure in the future that they don’t feel today.
To shed light on an industry veering toward consolidation, Intel reviewed three months of recent surveys and corporate filings spanning four major brokerage networks — Compass, Anywhere, Real Brokerage and REMAX.
Read what these real estate professionals and executives are saying in the full report.
Agent compensation
As soon as Compass International Holdings completed its merger with Anywhere Real Estate, Intel set out to track how closely the company adhered to pledges that CEO Robert Reffkin made to Anywhere’s brands.
In its surveys of former Anywhere agents, Intel also sought to confirm whether they were hearing their compensation might be negatively affected by the merger.
So far, there’s been almost no sign that agents would see a change in net compensation.
- In all three surveys conducted since the merger closed, only 1 percent or 2 percent of former Anywhere agents said they had heard their compensation might change — in either direction.
Instead, almost all of the agents with newly Compass-acquired brokerages and brands have either not heard this question addressed by their leadership, or have been told that their existing compensation arrangements would be honored unchanged.
The Real Brokerage says it intends to take the same path in its own merger with REMAX Holdings.
“REMAX agents will keep their brand, their franchise model and their existing economics,” Real CEO Tamir Poleg said on a call with investors. “Real agents will keep their model too.”
In one of its financial filings, Real also named the “ability to retain agents, franchisees and personnel” as one of the risks the company was keeping tabs on in the aftermath of the merger announcement.
In other words, Real, like Compass before it, would likely face enough pressure to retain agents in its newly combined network that it’s unlikely to fiddle with agent compensation any time soon.
The tech-stack switch
Real is not requiring that REMAX agents switch tech.
But if Compass’ public filings are any guide, Real will face financial pressures over time to expend software labor resources on its own core tech stack, rather than splitting them with maintenance of REMAX legacy systems.
In Compass’ case, agents and brokerages appeared relatively eager to switch, Intel surveys suggested at the time.
Response share among agents at former Anywhere brokerages
Change from January survey → March survey
- Switching to Compass tech, now or later: 37% → 60%
- Sticking with current tech stack: 23% → 18%
Because the news of the Real-REMAX merger broke during Intel’s active survey period, we don’t yet have information on whether REMAX agents are as willing to switch over to their new parent company’s tech as former Anywhere agents were.
What we do know is that Real currently has no plans to require REMAX agents to move onto the acquiring company’s tech stack.
Real CFO Ravi Jani also took pains in the initial investor call to emphasize that they were not counting on a mass switch to Real’s tech stack in order to justify the acquisition. Benefits from agents switching simply “represent additional potential upside,” he said.
Still, Poleg said in an interview with Inman the day of the merger announcement that the deal came together after they became “convinced that [REMAX agents] would utilize our technology,” he said.
Time will tell whether that bet pays off.
Off-MLS listings
Once quite vocally resistant to the idea of private listings, agents at former Anywhere-affiliated brokerages report that their leadership is no longer resisting the practice.
No significant contingent of opposition to private exclusives has emerged among the brokerage leadership in the former Anywhere network.
Response share among agents at former Anywhere brokerages
Change from January survey → March survey
- Strongly encouraged to use private exclusives: 1% → 9%
- Open to private exclusives, but not pressuring: 26% → 44%
- Discouraged from using private exclusives: 7% → 4%
- No guidance yet: 66% → 42%
It seems plain that if there were any internal resistance building up among leaders at the acquired brokerages or former Anywhere-owned brands, it hasn’t reached agents yet.
For Real’s part, there has been no signal that they intend to expand their pre-marketing partnerships, beyond REMAX’s pre-existing participation in the Zillow Preview coming-soon program.
Rather, Poleg has said that their efforts in this area will be led by their discussion with agents in their now-expanded network.
“If agents see the benefit of doing something in that direction, we will go ahead and do it,” Poleg told Inman in an interview.
Methodology notes: This month’s Inman Intel Index survey ran from March 24 through April 2, and received 474 responses. The entire Inman reader community was invited to participate, and a rotating, randomized selection of community members was prompted to participate by email. Users responded to a series of questions related to their self-identified corner of the real estate industry — including real estate agents, brokerage leaders, lenders and proptech entrepreneurs. Results reflect the opinions of the engaged Inman community, which may not always match those of the broader real estate industry. This survey is conducted monthly.
