I think I have an obligation to give you a love letter.
Yes, you.
Small and medium-sized real estate brokers who have sustained this industry with grit, caffeine, and the emotional reserves left over from the past few years. That’s what I sat down to write today.
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Like any good love letter, I want to remind you why our relationship is important, apologize for what the industry has put on you, and show you that my admiration is genuine.
So pull up a chair and let’s talk.
For small and medium-sized intermediaries
I feel like this one-sided love has been going on for a while.
There was a time when you were the center of the industry. You knew that every road, every school boundary, every cracked sidewalk meant “if you park here, your conditioning will never return.” You built your business the old-fashioned way. By earning trust, building people, and anchoring communities while the rest of the world seeks to automate relationships.
Your worth is never a hypothesis. It inhabited driveways, living rooms, and offices with older carpet than some agents.
But somewhere along the way, the industry stopped answering the phone. To make matters worse, the response was to put you on hold and then transfer you to a representative who clearly confused you with the warranty department.
Let’s be honest. The last few years have felt like I’ve been thrown straight into a real estate version of Game of Thrones.
While you were here coaching agents through the longest high-interest market of your career, giants were slamming dragons in the courtyard.
Compass and Anywhere have merged into a mega-house that’s probably big enough to have its own zip code. Privately listed networks began acting like rival kingdoms and electing champions. The portal continued to redraw the map every few months, as if the remaining people had time to memorize new areas. And even though you were busy fixing the office printer, every time you turned around, someone was yelling at you to bend your knees.
Meanwhile, your world has become increasingly difficult.
The industry was valued in dog years, so interest rates remained high until everyone was 10 years old. Trading volume has reached its limit. The recruitment process turned into a knife fight. Maintenance became group therapy. Your profits went to life support.
And through it all, you were expected to remain optimistic, calm, and forward-thinking, even though most days you were running the entire office on expired Halloween candy and pure adrenaline.
Still, here we are. Still standing. Still in service. Still in the lead. Continue to refuse to tap out, even when the industry acts like you’re an extra in someone else’s Targaryen subplot.
So let me say something that the industry doesn’t talk about enough.
you are important
And the data backs it up. Even with all the noise about consolidation and big mergers, real people are still choosing real agents. That means brokers like you remain at the heart of the industry.
According to NAR’s latest Home Buyer and Seller Profiles, 88% of buyers used an agent or broker to complete their purchase, and 91% of sellers did the same. Even when transactions occur, humans are the ones steering the ship.
On top of that, more than half of all real estate agents work with independent companies rather than huge national brands, meaning a significant portion of their business still resides in local community-based offices.
And even when zoomed out, industry rankings show that the top 1,000 brokerages account for about 64 percent of total home sales volume, and about 36 percent of all transactions come from tens of thousands of small businesses across the country, according to T3 Sixty data.
Consumers trust local knowledge, local relationships, and local leadership, and we deliver all three in a way that no algorithm or national marketing slogan can replicate.
You’re the one training new agents who think “CC&R” stands for Creedence Clearwater Revival, and you’re honestly putting them ahead of people who think it’s a boy band. You are the one who knows which financial institutions can close without setting themselves on fire. You’re the one who stands by your client when the deal blows up and reminds them that their dream isn’t over yet. You’re the person who drives around town to reset the lockbox because someone “swears they pressed the right button.” You’re the one who hosts an office holiday party where someone always ends up crying, but somehow it becomes a bonding moment that your team will talk about for years to come.
You are the guardians of culture. stabilizer. The quiet backbone of the entire industry.
And the truth is, the industry needs you now more than ever.
In a world of megamergers, algorithmic leads, and the kingdom of private listings, the ability to show up in person trumps landing pages. Hyperlocal understanding is better than AI-generated portal neighborhood advertising. When giants fight, it’s you who remind people that real estate is not a show. It’s a service.
So how can we fix ourselves? How can we strengthen this relationship?
First, I’ll tell you the truth. This market was cruel. Interest rates are squeezing affordability, squeezing profit margins and squeezing morale. The past four winters have been the kind of winters that even make me give up on snowplow work and decide to take another job. Whether you survive or not is not a matter of luck. That’s talent. That’s leadership. It’s the kind of resilience that doesn’t make headlines but brings communities together.
Then, instead of being fearful, be strategic. The integration of the giants does not make you irrelevant. It makes you irreplaceable. When the voice of the industry becomes louder, people will want something local. When the rules get complicated, you want someone you can trust. With private listing networks corralling inventory like rival castles, the brokers who know their communities best become even more valuable.
And finally, I remember why I did this in the first place. It wasn’t about running an empire. It was about developing people. To build the agent. To build a career. To build trust. To build something that will outlast this absurd market cycle. Your work is a legacy work. That’s more important than any headline.
So please don’t abandon us. The industry still needs you. More than ever. What you offer cannot be automated, integrated, or mass produced. That’s only possible by handcrafting it, the way you’ve always done it. A Jedi-level ability to whisk anxious agents off the ledge using nothing but patience, wit, humor, and a ceramic mug and a raised eyebrow.
You are the heartbeat of real estate. And let’s meet now. Completely. clearly. Finally.
Love (and heartfelt prayers that interest rates come down before we lose our minds),
crazy uncle keith
PS If this industry really was Game of Thrones, you wouldn’t be an extra. You are the character everyone roots for, the one who wins every battle because you fight for purpose and not for glory. Please be strong. Next season is shaping up to be a wild one.
Throughout this month, we are focusing on ‘New Mediation Strategies’. How securities companies operate in 2026 will be no different than before. From corporate giants to finicky indies, we map the new playing field and talk to brokerage leaders across the country about what’s working now and what’s next.
Keith Robinson is co-CEO of NextHome, Inc. and co-host of Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered. Follow the Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered podcast on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, or TikTok and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
