These
results
came
as
the
number
of

existing
home
sales
dropped
18.7%
year
over
year
in
2023
to
a
near
30-year
low
of
4.09
million.
RE/MAX’s
U.S.
agent
count,
meanwhile,
fell
from
58,719
at
end
of
2022
to
55,131
at
end
of
2023.

The
company’s
global
agent
count
is
up
0.6%
annually
to
144,835,
due
to
slight
growth
in
its
Canadian
agent
count
and
a
strong
uptick
in
its
international
agent
count,
the
latter
of
which
rose
from
60,175
at
the
end
of
2022
to
64,536
at
the
end
of
2023.

With
this
in
mind,
Carlson
said
two
of
the
firm’s
main
priorities
are
to
stabilize
and
grow
its
U.S.
agent
count
and
to
expand
its
mortgage
business.
He
said
leaders
are
confident
that
these
areas
can
“grow
into
a
meaningful
revenue
business.”

“Posting
gains
in
those
two
areas
would
build
market
share,
increased
revenue
and
earnings,
and
will
create
momentum
for
additional
growth,”
Carlson
said.

As
RE/MAX
has
attempted
to
overcome
the
challenges
posed
by

housing
market
conditions,
executives
said
they
have
reevaluated
some
of
the
programs
the
company
offers
in
an
effort
to
pinpoint
which
initiatives
are
worth
further
investment.
One
such
program,
Carlson
said,
is
its
teams
initiative,
which
is

launched
in
mid-2022
and
expanded
again
in
2023.

“As
a
result
of
the
program
impact
and
our
lessons
learned,
we
are
expanding
the
modified
version
of
the
program
to
encourage
team
recruitment
and
growth
across
much
of
the
U.S.,”
Carlson
said.
“From
our
perspective
this
is
prudent,
proven
investment
that
will
help
franchises
grow
their
offices,
help
team
leaders
build
larger
teams
and,
simultaneously,
it
sends
a
message
across
the
industry
that
teams
have
yet
another
reason
to
affiliate
with
RE/MAX.”

Under
the
modified
teams
program,
in
order
to
unlock
the
program’s
financial
incentives
(which
include
reduced
recurring
fees
and
a
broker
fee
cap),
a
brokerage
in
an
eligible
state
must
first
add
any
combination
of
six
team
leaders
or
members
from
outside
the
RE/MAX
network.

RE/MAX
executives
also
addressed
the

commission
lawsuits
and
the
firm’s

settlement
agreement
related
to
the
Sitzer/Burnett,
Moehrl
and
Nosalek
suits,
which
was
confirmed
as
a
nationwide
settlement.

“While
the
settlement
came
at
a
significant
financial
cost,
we
believe
it
was
the
right
decision
for
all
our
stakeholders,
affiliates,
employees,
shareholders
and
debt
holders
alike,”
Carlson
said.
“We
view
it
as
an
investment
in
the
brands,
the
networks,
the
franchisees
and,
most
importantly,
the
agents.”

Executives
noted
they
were
“cautiously
optimistic”
about
the
settlement

gaining
final
approval
in
May,
an
outcome
that
would
see
copycat
litigation
also
go
away.
They
also
noted
that
RE/MAX
is
viewing
this
as
an
opportunity
to
further
double
down
on
agent
education.

“In
RE/MAX
University,
we
offer
something
called
the
Accredited
Buyer
Representation
Designation,
which
gives
our
agents
education
on
exactly
how
to
articulate
their
value
proposition,
so
we
anticipate
that
there
will
be
more
demand
for
that
as
we
move
forward,”
Lessinger
said.

As
RE/MAX
heads
further
into
2024,
executives
said
they
expect
to
continue
seeing
a
purge
of
nonproductive
agents
across
the
industry,
as
well
as
more
transactions
in
2024
than
in
2023,
which
they
believe
will
serve
their
highly
productive
agents
well.