With
its
supercharged
growth
over
the
past
two
years,
it
is
no
surprise
that

The
Real
Brokerage
topped
the
2024


RealTrends
500

Top
Movers
list
for
both
transaction
side
count
and
sales
volume.

In
2023,
Real
recorded
48,905
sides,
up
14,721
sides
from
2022,
and
a
sales
volume
of
$21.2
billion,
up
$6.80
billion
over
the
prior
year.
Not
only
were
these
figures
good
enough
for
the
top
mover
spot,
but
Real
ranked
at

No.
6
and

No.
10
nationwide
for
transaction
sides
and
sales
volume,
respectively.

But
for
Real,
which
runs
a
virtual
brokerage
model
with
revenue
sharing
for
its
agents,
the
goal
is
to
get
better,
not
necessarily
bigger.

“The
growth
we’ve
had
is
great,
but
if
that
growth
doesn’t
deliver
what
the
business
needs
from
a
volume
and
a
transactions
perspective
then
you
don’t
have
the
kind
of
growth
that
is
connected
to
the
core
part
of
the
business,”
Sharran
Srivatsaa,
Real’s
president,
said
in
an
interview.
“What
I
am
really
grateful
for
is
that
we
are
not
just
seeing
agent
growth,
but
based
on
the
rankings
we
have
had
significant
transaction
and
volume
growth.”

Real’s
big
splash
on
the
2024
RealTrends
rankings
come
as
its
agent
count
has
soared
to
over
16,000
agents
spread
across
the
U.S.
and
Canada.
In
comparison,
at
the
end
of
Q4
2021,
Real’s
agent
count
was
just
3,850
agents,
a
figure
that
already
represented
a
161%
annual
increase
from
Q4
2020.

Srivatsaa
said
there
are
three
main
components
that
is
driving
agents
to
Real:
the
firm’s
culture,
its
model,
and
its
platform.

“At
traditional
firms
there
has
always
been
a
silo
effect,”
Srivatsaa
said.
“But
the
overall
network
is
a
powerful
thing
and
what
we
have
noticed
with
these
silos
is
that
they
take
away
and
power
and
size
of
the
network.
We
have
this
idea
that
we
call
‘One
Real,’
which
is
that
there
are
no
silos,
and
it
creates
an
even
collaboration
field.”

According
to
Srivatsaa,
this
means
that
trainings
and
resources
brought
in
by
one
team
leader
or
broker
are
available
to
all
agents
at
the
firm.

“Culturally
speaking
it
has
been
super
powerful,”
Srivatsaa
said.
“Because
of
the
power
and
size
of
the
network
people
have
access
to
everything
and
can
pick
and
choose
what
they
want
to
utilize.”

Sharing
the
rev

As
for
Real’s
model,
Srivatsaa
cited
agents’
ability
to
unlock
multiple
different
revenue
streams
as
a
reason
for
agent
growth.
In
addition
to
the
firm’s

revenue
share
program,
which
pays
agents
for
recruiting
productive
agents,
Real
agents
can
also
set
up
joint
ventures
through


Real
Title
and

One
Real
Mortgage.

“The
best
part
of
this
is
that
they
are
just
options,”
Srivatsaa
said.
“Giving
people
options
of
multiple
revenue
stream
is
really
powerful.”

Real
also
operates
on
a
standard
85/15
commission
split
for
all
agents
with
a
cap
of
$12,000,
which
Srivatsaa
said
helps
the
firm
maintain
its
agility
even
as
it
continues
to
grow.
Agents
who
reach
their
commission
cap
receive
stock
bonuses,
which
has
aided
in
agent
growth.

Agents
can
also
gain
stock
by
purchasing
it,
attracting
productive
agents
to
Real,
as
well
as
stock
awards
for
teaching
agent
training
programs
at
Real
or
doing
community
service
projects.

“If
I
am
working
in
a
dog
shelter
for
12
months
an
serving
my
community
or
I
am
volunteering
at
the
Red
Cross
and
I
get
that
pre-approved,
then
at
the
end
of
the
12
months
I
can
get
a
stock
award
for
that,”
Srivatsaa
said.

Though
Real
made
progress
financially,
like
virtually
all
of
its
brokerage
peers
it
was
in
the
red
in
2023.
Real
posted
a
net
loss
of
$27.2
million
on
$689.1
million
in
revenue.
Its
net
margin
was
-4%,
largely
because
it
pays
such
a
large
amount
of
revenue
in
the
form
of
stock-based
compensation.

The
white
label
tech
stack

Real’s
technology
has
a
100%
adoption
rate
by
all
agents,
as
they
must
use
it
in
order
to
receive
their
commission.
It
has
also
fostered
collaboration,
Srivatsaa
said.
Everyone
in
the
company
has
visibility
into
how
agents
are
progressing
and
growing
their
businesses.

Founded
in
2014
by
CEO
Tamir
Poleg
and
chief
technology
officer
Gal
Weiss,
Real
managed
to
fly
mostly
under
the
radar
until
it
went
public
in
2020.
Its
profile
continued
to
rise

in
2021,
when
it
began
trading
on
NASDAQ
in
June
of
2021.
While
Srivatsaa
is
pleased
with
the
growth
his
firm
recorded
in
2023,
he
has
even
bigger
plans
in
store
for
2024.

In
January,
Real
launched
its
Private
Label
and
Pro
Teams
business
avenues.
Under
the
Private
Label
program,
independent
brokerages
or
teams
that
join
Real
can
keep
their
own
branding
but
be
powered
by
Real.

“It
is
a
straight
white
label,”
Srivatsaa
said.
“You
keep
your
brand
on
the
front
end
and
it
is
powered
by
Real
on
the
back
end.”

With
Pro
Teams,
not
only
do
teams
or
independent
brokerages
that
join
Real
get
to
keep
their
branding,
they
can
also
keep
their
model.

“Last
year
we
did
five
Private
Labels
as
a
pilot,
just
to
see
how
it
would
work
and
the
thing
we
quickly
realized
is
that
all
of
them
had
very
different
business
models,
one
was
a
flat
fee,
one
was
a
high
cap,
and
when
they
came
to
Real
they
kind
of
had
to
force
their
model
onto
ours
and
that
caused
friction
with
their
agents
because
their
split
program
changed,”
Srivatsaa
said.
“With
Pro
Teams,
the
team
leader
can
tell
their
agents
that
nothing
changes
for
them,
they
just
now
have
access
to
everything
Real
has
to
offer,
then
on
the
backend
our
software
reconciles
everything
from
a
model
perspective.”

So
far,
these
programs
have
helped
attract
many
independent
brokerages
and
teams
to
Real
including
the
200-agent
strong


PREMIERE
Group.
While
Srivatsaa
expects
these
programs
to
continue
to
drive
agent
count
growth
throughout
the
year,
a
positive
for
the
firm,
he
is
also
excited
about

the
launch
of

Real
Wallet.

Real
Wallet,
the
company’s
first

fintech
product,
is
a
digital
debit
and
credit
card
platform
specifically
for
Real
agents.
The
product
enables
Real
agents
to
consolidate
all
commission
income,
revenue
share
payments
and
equity
earned
through
Real
into
one
digital
platform
with
the
ability
to
access
these
funds
through
a
Real-branded
debit
or
credit
card.
Agents
can
then
use
points
they
accumulate
from
their
card
transactions
to
reduce
their
brokerage
transaction
fees.

“That
goes
live
in
the
first
part
of
Q2,
and
we
expect
it
to
be
in
production
in
Q3
and
Q4,”
Srivatsaa
said.
“So,
a
big
part
for
us
in
2024
is
stabilizing
the
agent
base
out
with
Private
Label
and
Pro
Teams
and
launching
the
Real
Wallet.”

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