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In an industry where tradition often supersedes innovation, we have seen something remarkable, where top-producing agents are making bold moves, departing institutional firms for a boutique luxury brand that barely existed only a few years ago.

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When building out your own team or bolstering your individual presence, we are sharing some valuable lessons. These are principles that can guide you on your journey, and we hope you find similar success. 

The ingredients

Every final product begins with a great recipe. And while the ingredients may seem simple, how they come together can be magical.

1. Be selective with your people
2. Invest in technology that solves real problems
3. Create a genuine culture of collaboration
4. Lead and inspire; don’t just manage
5. Maintain consistent, high-quality branding across all platforms

1. Be selective: Quality over quantity

For decades, the luxury real estate brokerage and team model has operated on a faulty premise: Recruit as many agents as possible, provide basic tools and hope for the best. Most brokerages and teams boast about having one or two top performers while carrying underperforming agents. It’s a flawed model that creates internal competition rather than collaboration, ultimately diluting a brand’s reputation.

Build something different by being extraordinarily selective. An agent with the wrong standards can irreparably damage your culture and reputation. When building your team, remember: quality over quantity.

We’re obsessed with quality over quantity. Our agent recruitment method is intentional, focusing on agents who not only meet the initial criteria but also align with our values.

Each agent on our team is a “hitter” — influential innovators and relationship builders who understand that real estate is about more than transactions; it’s about transformative experiences. They have integrity, consistently exceed expectations and are dedicated to preserving an extraordinary standard that benefits everyone.

This disciplined focus allowed us to grow to a billion dollars in sales within just 18 months. When building your team, remember that selective recruitment creates a foundation for exponential growth.

2. Technology with a purpose

The industry is saturated with flashy tech solutions that solve problems no one has. The key is to start by identifying the actual friction points agents experience every day — and then invest in or develop tools to solve those specific challenges.

For example, we use technology to identify 500 to 1,500 real estate professionals who have sold homes near a specific property and send a beautifully designed, targeted email campaign. This replaces the need for generic blasts to irrelevant agents and increases the likelihood of connecting with the right buyer pool. The result? Innovative outreach that respects both time and inboxes.

Technology should always reduce friction, not create more of it. Successful adoption doesn’t just come from having the right tools, but also from investing time in onboarding, training and ongoing refinement.

3. Culture as a competitive advantage

Instill a culture of integrity and mutual support where collaboration surpasses internal competition and where agents actively work alongside other agents, sharing insights, strategies and opportunities.

Maintain transparency and open communication about the team’s direction, including challenges and opportunities. 

Hold frequent team meetings to share the latest listings, deals and best practices. And most importantly, always look to celebrate successes!

4. Lead and inspire

Recognizing the individual strength of each agent and providing personalized support help with retention. Articulate your clear vision for the firm, and ensure that each agent understands how they fit in that vision. If an agent requires professional development, then invest in their success. Above all else, exhibit the standards and work ethic you expect from others.

5. Build and maintain consistent, high-quality branding across all platforms

Presentation is everything, especially in marketing properties for sale. By developing marketing templates and aligning brand guidelines across your team, you create a strong and consistent brand. Invest in professional photography and curating your social media presence. Lastly, but not least, engage your clients in exclusive appreciation experiences, such as private property tours.

Your future team

Long-term success in our industry is measured by the relationships you build and the excellence you uphold. Sharing knowledge, lifting others and celebrating victories creates an inviting foundation for unparalleled growth. By thoughtfully combining these ingredients, you will craft an environment where your exceptional team can prosper. 

Chris Morrison is the founding partner of RETSY, Arizona’s fastest-growing luxury real estate firm, headquartered in Scottsdale. Connect with Chris and his team on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Real estate is changing fast, and so must you. Inman Connect San Diego is where you turn uncertainty into strategy — with real talk, real tools and the connections that matter. If you’re serious about staying ahead of the game, this is where you need to be. Register now!

Although he’s built a successful independent brokerage, you won’t find Sean Frank recommending that path to others. “With so many models competing in so many ways, it’s a challenge to create something very competitive from scratch. The honest reality is that I would not recommend starting a brokerage to most people. There are much better ways to spend time.”

One of the ways Frank’s brokerage, Mainframe Real Estate, differentiates itself is through its proprietary software development, “providing an all-in-one software that allows high-productivity agents to be extremely efficient and organized.” The emphasis on tech stems from Frank’s early experiences in the industry. “Technology in real estate is still lacking today, but it was horrendous at the time,” he said. “I had a passion for technology and wanted to create phenomenal tech for agents, and that was the driving factor for me [starting a brokerage].”

Name: Sean Frank

Title: CEO

Experience: 23 years

Location: Orlando, Florida

Brokerage name: Mainframe Real Estate

Rankings: Top 1 percent of brokerages in Central Florida

Team size: 53

Transaction sides: 670 (2024)

Sales volume: $270 million (2024)

How did you get your start in real estate?

I got my real estate license when I was 18 so that I could find a professional job while I was in college. The deeper I got into real estate over the years, the more experience I gained, and it became my career path in life. I wish I could say that I had some big dream to get into real estate, but it was much more happenstance. 

What do you wish more people knew about working in real estate?

Real estate is not an easy business. It’s not the glitz and glam that it appears to be on social media. With a low barrier to entry, the industry is riddled with amateurs and unprofessional people. I wish consumers understood the huge gap in experience in the industry and what it could cost them.

For agents, even if they achieve great success in real estate sales, it’s at the costly sacrifice of their personal life. Agents always have to keep up sales momentum, and it can feel like being trapped on a hamster wheel. I warn people all the time not to get into real estate, but many people are naive to the reality, though they may not still be young. 

What’s something you know now that you wish you knew when you started?

Before starting a brokerage, I wish I knew what it really took. Yes, it requires being nice and likable, but it’s about systems and processes more than anything. Growing a business is creating a monster. The bigger it gets, the more money and time it consumes. It’s not something someone can imagine before they are in it themselves.

These words could never convey the extreme amount of energy it took to get it off the ground. And then it’s a trap — you have to keep going and you can’t turn back. I have no regrets, but I completely underestimated what it would take to grow a successful company. 

Tell us about a high point in your brokerage career

Learning to delegate and being able to afford to was a game-changer for my career. It took years of hard work and performing many roles in my company, but eventually, we grew to a point where I could begin offloading the work that I was doing. It allowed me to expand my mind and alleviate stress. Even more than a career accomplishment, it was a huge achievement for my personal life. 

What’s your top prediction for next year?

I think the next 12 months of real estate will be a continuation of what we have seen over the last 12: a slowing market with more inventory and fewer buyers. Agents who have not been in the business more than five years don’t understand that the COVID-era market was a fantasy and that the swings of the market can be painful, and everyone needs to be prepared for them. 

Tell us about an epic fail you’ve experienced since you’ve been a broker

The hardest part of leading a company is hiring and firing. The biggest mistake I made, especially in the early phases of the company, was not thoroughly interviewing people for positions. Hiring someone is a relationship, and ideally, it should last for as long as possible. But if somebody is underperforming and bringing down the team, they need to go.

The wrong employee is the most expensive person on staff because they are keeping the company from its highest potential. Learning how to hire properly can save unspeakable time, money and headaches. 

What makes a good leader?

More than anything, a good leader is empathic. People want to know they are cared for and that their opinions matter. They want to believe they can give feedback, and it will be heard. Even if a leader can’t give everything that is asked of them, they can listen, learn and do their best. Culture is the most important aspect of any company, and it starts with a trusting and welcoming environment where everyone feels valued. 

What’s one thing you wish every agent knew?

Relationships matter in this business more than anything. I see agents constantly trying to outshine other people on social media. They watch other agents “perform” and want to be like them. Nobody wants to pick up the phone and create deeper relationships anymore. Everyone is looking for a CRM or AI to build or maintain their relationships, but they will never replace authenticity.

The best part of this business is the relationships we build, so dive deep into them and watch the rewards that are created both personally and financially.

Real estate is changing fast, and so must you. Inman Connect San Diego is where you turn uncertainty into strategy — with real talk, real tools and the connections that matter. If you’re serious about staying ahead of the game, this is where you need to be. Register now!

A local Realtor association in Florida and the parent company of lockbox firm Supra have reached a settlement over allegations that the latter colluded to “steal” members and entice them to join other, rival associations.

On June 16, attorneys for the Orlando Regional Realtor Association (ORRA) and Honeywell International Inc. informed the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida Orlando Division that the parties had settled.

“A settlement agreement has been agreed to in terms and is in the process of being executed,” the attorneys wrote.

Honeywell acquired Carrier Global Corporation’s Global Access Solutions business, including Supra, in June 2024.

The filing did not provide details on terms of the deal, whether there was any admission of wrongdoing or any payment involved. Inman has reached out to ORRA and Carrier for comment and will update this story if and when responses are received.

ORRA, which has more than 20,000 members, filed suit last year. The association alleged that, after ORRA declined to renew its lockbox partnership agreement with Supra, Supra sent “a malicious Email intimidating ORRA’s Members into leaving ORRA and associating with other organizations,” causing at least 67 to 100 members to leave the trade group since the email was sent.

The complaint alleged tortious interference of business relationships, tortious interference with contractual relationships, breach of contract, and breach of good faith and fair dealing. But in its answer to the complaint, Honeywell denied the allegations, including ORRA’s characterization of the email sent by Supra.

Read the notice of resolution (reload page if document is not visible):

Email Andrea V. Brambila.

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Real estate is changing fast, and so must you. Inman Connect San Diego is where you turn uncertainty into strategy — with real talk, real tools and the connections that matter. If you’re serious about staying ahead of the game, this is where you need to be. Register now!

Do you remember where you were on the morning of June 26, 2015? Most LGBTQ+ people do as so many were glued to CNN as it shared breaking news that the Supreme Court had just ruled in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage. As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of Obergefell v. Hodges, we can reminisce about watching former Realtor Jim Obergefell celebrate the landmark decision as he talked to then-President Obama.

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The ruling has had a profound positive impact on the LGBTQ+ community and society at large. 

The number of same-sex marriages has risen dramatically since then, from 425,357 in 2015 to 774,553 in 2023, according to Pew Research. A recent The Hill report also showed that 72 percent of Americans today support the right of same-sex couples to marry. Pew Research also found that most LGBTQ+ adults believe that society is more accepting of gay, lesbian, transgender and nonbinary people today than a decade ago.

It’s easy to see how the ruling on June 26, 2015, tangibly changed lives. 

Discrimination on the rise

As we celebrate today’s 10th anniversary, we understand that while society is seemingly supportive of our community, discrimination against LGBTQ+ people remains visible.

Take a look at where members of the LGBTQ+ community fared in the findings of May 2025’s Pew Research Center report, which showed the percentage of Americans who say there is “a lot” of discrimination against various groups:

1. Immigrants who are illegally in the U.S. (57 percent)
2. Transgender people (48 percent)
3. Gay or lesbian people (37 percent)
4. Black people (36 percent)
5. Muslims (34 percent)
6. Hispanic people (34 percent)
7. Jews (30 percent)
8. Immigrants who are legally in the U.S. (29 percent)

Discrimination, and the fear of it, is likely why a survey from Monster just reported that 42 percent of LGBTQ+ employees said they feel less comfortable talking about gender identity, expression or sexual orientation at work compared to last year at this time. This matters. It is virtually impossible to improve your career, get promoted or save for a down payment when you are fearful of being yourself at work.

It’s happening in real estate, too

The LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance’s most recent report showed that discrimination remains far too rampant in our industry:

• 33 percent of our members report seeing an increase in housing discrimination against LGBTQ+ clients over the past three years — a 46 percent increase since 2022.
• For the first time since the Alliance began tracking the data in 2022, real estate professionals were named as the leading culprit of housing discrimination, ahead of legal forms needing a signature, sellers, landlords and lenders.

This should be a wake-up call for our industry that requires all Realtors to follow the Code of Ethics and, at the same time, practice the “do unto others … ” mantra so many follow every day.

You can imagine why so many of our members were concerned when the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Board of Directors recently altered Article 10.5 of the Code of Ethics. While we applaud NAR leadership for taking questions on an Alliance Town Hall last week, it was another reminder of how much further we have to go in the fight to end discrimination in our society and industry

The Alliance will continue to lead

The real estate profession has been incredibly supportive of the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance and its over 3,500-plus members since our founding in 2020. The industry has worked with us when we disagreed with actions and called them out.

That included us drafting the “Article 10 Rule,” which encourages RPACs to refrain from supporting discriminatory elected officials and candidates. If Realtors are not permitted to discriminate based on gender identity and sexual orientation, according to Article 10 of the Code of Ethics, those same professional standards should apply to those whom RPACs support. It’s been eye-opening and rewarding to see so many local and state Realtor associations adopt such language.

On the rare occasion when Realtors openly discriminate, our members have been quick to file ethics complaints. And you may recall our outrage last year when NAR posted a simple “Happy Pride Month” message that attracted far too many bigoted and homophobic responses.

Our fight to end housing discrimination continues, and the Alliance alone can’t do it. We need you, the allies, to assist. And there are plenty of you out there!

By our estimates, there are about 80,000 Realtors with an LGBTQ+ child. That doesn’t include the hundreds of thousands who know that child and/or work with and support their Realtor parent. If you fit in those groups, take one last action this Pride Month and join the Alliance.

The LGBTQ+ buying boom is coming

Real estate professionals should refrain from discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community for obvious moral reasons. We are people who want and deserve the same dignity and respect that all cherish. There is also a business rationale for proper behavior. You may attract more business as Gen Z and millennials continue to move through their homebuying years.

The annual Gallup report states that 23 percent of all Gen Z adults self-identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community, while 14 percent of millennials do the same. These millions of young people may eventually buy homes, if they haven’t already. Zillow recently shared that 11 percent of all 2024 homebuyers identified as LGBTQ+. That’s up from 7 percent in 2019 and equates to $182 billion in sales volume.

Rather than fight against the LGBTQ+ community, welcome us. Do not fear us; talk to us. Join our next Alliance Certified Ally course on July 10, and learn about us. Improve your lives and careers with us. 

Thanks for your support, and happy Pride!

Mary Mancera, Interim CEO, LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance

Real estate is changing fast, and so must you. Inman Connect San Diego is where you turn uncertainty into strategy — with real talk, real tools and the connections that matter. If you’re serious about staying ahead of the game, this is where you need to be. Register now!

Mortgage rates may still be higher than anyone wants, but new numbers from the National Association of Realtors show that strong job and wage growth helped push pending home sales higher in May.

The numbers, out Thursday, show that pending sales rose 1.1 percent year over year last month. Compared to April, pending sales rose 1.8 percent. The increases are small, but NAR framed them as a positive sign anyway and attributed them to other positive economic progress.

“Consistent job gains and rising wages are modestly helping the housing market,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement. “Hourly wages are increasing faster than home prices. However, mortgage rate fluctuations are the primary driver of homebuying decisions and impact housing affordability more than wage gains.”

NAR’s pending home sales report is considered a leading indicator for the housing market at large. It tracks pending sales of existing homes. NAR reported that all four regions that it tracks experienced increases in pending home sales in May, according to the new data.

The uptick also coincided with a string of signs that home prices were declining in some regions while booming elsewhere.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported this week that home prices fell 0.4 percent from March to April in the U.S., with price declines more pronounced in some regions and gains more pronounced in others.

Pending sales were down 0.5 percent in the Northeast compared to May 2024. Still, they were up 2.1 percent compared to April 2025.

The FHFA report found that home prices in New England were 5.5 percent higher in April 2025 than a year earlier. Home prices were up 7.4 percent this year in the Middle Atlantic, which includes New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware.

“The Northeast’s housing shortage is boosting home prices, with more than a quarter of homes selling above list price,” Yun said. “Conversely, more inventory in the South gives homebuyers greater negotiation power. Price declines in the South should be considered temporary given the region’s strong job creation.”

Pending home sales rose 6 percent in the West compared to a month earlier, NAR said, the strongest growth among the four regions.

NAR’s pending sales report stood in stark contrast to a separate report, also released this week, which found that sales of newly constructed single-family homes dropped 13.7 percent in May 2025 from the previous month.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales hit 623,000 in May, which was 6.3 percent below the May 2024 rate of 665,000, the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported on Wednesday.

Email Taylor Anderson