For emerging brokerages carving out their niche in the market, recruitment and retention of top talent have become essential to their trajectory. From better pay to an array of tech resources, newer companies are doing anything they can to appeal to agents. For Real Brokerage Inc. (Real), that has meant offering “low splits, revenue sharing, equity and more.”
Real services 32 states and Canada and is among the pool of emerging brokerage models that went public in the past year and a half. The company’s chief executive maintains that Real’s focus is on the people at the closing table.
“We wanted to create a brokerage that understands what agents go through every day and develop a tech platform to set them up for success in a better way,” says Tamir Poleg, founder and CEO of Real. “Agents do a vast majority of the work, and they should be entitled to more money in their pockets.”
More Money in Agent’s Pockets
While Real’s branding leans more on its tech-powered features, the brokerage’s value proposition is its agent financial structure. Emerging brokerage models have traditionally pushed commission splits that favor the agent, and Real is no exception.
The New York-based company offers an 85/15 commission split for agents with an annual cap of $12,000. According to Real’s website, agents who hit the benchmark can earn 100% of their commission for the rest of the year.
Real provide a similar deal for teams that sign with them as well.
Joining the company’s financial perks is a revenue share program that essentially lets agents earn additional cash for recruiting new agents. Through the program, agents can earn a 5% revenue share per capping agent they bring in. The earnings come from Real’s portion of the commission split with the particular agent, according to the company.
Real also offers an equity program where agents obtain company shares in place of their commissions—5% of net commissions—or by hitting annual caps or directly recruiting new agents.
Tech and Support
As far as tech-stacks go, Real relies heavily on its mobile technology platform, allowing the company to offer agents 24/7 support and resources in a paperless brokerage model.
Real provides agents with personalized web pages and Real mobile apps to agents to manage their businesses. The company’s mobile platform leverages SkySlope as an all-in-one transaction management resource along with CloudCMA for real-time market data.
Real also provides Chime CRM at a discounted rate along with other training and agent development programs offered digitally.
The Fine Print
Aside from perks and tools that Real props up, a few aspects of the company differentiate it from traditional brokerage models—for better or worse. Although it has a growing footprint across the nation, Real doesn’t offer office space for its agents.
Instead, the tech-focused company encourages agents looking for office space to use flexible workspaces.
A sizable commission split and other financial perks are appealing points of Real’s agent plans, but it comes with some conditions, including a $149 start-up fee.
The brokerage touts zero monthly fees, but the agents still pay a $500 annual fee which gets deducted from their first two transactions each year. They also charge $225 per transaction fee for sales after an agent hits their yearly cap.
Agents are also responsible for joining and paying for their membership to a local board of REALTORS® and MLS.
Looking Ahead
Thus far, the focus on improving the agent experience has helped Real increase its footprint. Coming months and years may see a growing emphasis on the client-side experience, according to Poleg.
While he didn’t disclose what those plans entail, Poleg hinted that a potential consumer-side improvement could be on the horizon by the end of the year.
“I think the future is more exciting because we’ll be building a journey where consumers, whether you’re trying to sell or buy a home, will probably enjoy a different level of service and experience when you deal with our agents and the software layer that we will put on the process,” Poleg says.
Jordan Grice is RISMedia’s associate content editor. Email him your real estate news to jgrice@rismedia.com.
