Just because real estate agents are thinking about relocating doesn’t mean they’re looking for a new model, writes Deb Siefkin. Here are five questions to ask for clarity.
The agents are active again. According to a new report from Recruiting Insight, Lone Wolf Technologies, and MyBFF Social, external agent turnover increased 25% quarter-over-quarter and 7% year-over-year.
I’ve made most of the moves this industry has to offer.
I started by moving from franchise brokerage to pursuing better divisions and stronger education. From there, I partnered with a commercial broker who wanted to learn about housing. When he moved out of state, I joined a very small brokerage firm and quickly realized that I knew more than the brokerage firm.
So I started a company and hired a broker so I could run my own store while working to get my broker’s license. I have also worked as an associate broker within a startup company.
Each move made sense at the time. Each solved something.
But none of them could single-handedly answer the larger question I was actually trying to solve.
The question wasn’t about models, splits, or tools. It was about how I think in my work.
Was I in an environment that helped me think clearly, or was I left alone with it?
This is the same question that more agents are now starting to ask.
Headings focus on percentages and production volumes. External movements are increasing. Internal transfers are increasing. The momentum for independence is growing.
For years, the industry has structured its hiring around models, divisions, and tools. Traditional and virtual. Cap and no cap. Leads and no leads. The assumption was that if you tailored your offer correctly, agents would follow.
That framework is starting to lose its effectiveness.
Most moving agents today don’t ask questions about price. They have questions to think about. They want to know whether their environment is helping them make decisions or if they are carrying the weight themselves.
I have worked independently, on teams and within brokerage firms. What surprised me most about becoming independent was not the freedom. When I had to make a decision and didn’t have someone I fully trusted to talk to about it, I became very quiet.
It doesn’t matter which model. It is not divided. It doesn’t matter what kind of tool it is.
Which do you think is best?
5 questions to ask before hiring a broker
If you’re considering making the move, here are five questions worth slowing down to answer clearly.
1. Does your current environment support consistent production or are you doing it yourself?
This is the question that underlies most movements, even if it is not directly stated.
Many agents are able to generate business during good markets and good times. Few people are able to maintain consistency when circumstances change.
If production increases or decreases without a clear pattern, ask whether the environment is contributing to that variation or helping to reduce it.
Moving isn’t just about changing your environment. This should improve stability.
2. If the answer is not obvious, do you have a structure for making decisions?
Most real estate jobs are non-mechanical. It’s interpretive.
Pricing items that don’t quite fit the comps Advising hesitant buyers who can’t explain why Avoiding valuation risk and timing decisions when multiple options make sense
These are not task issues. They are decision-making issues.
The question isn’t whether you can do the job. It’s about whether you have a way to think through a situation when it’s not clear, and whether the people around you can think it through with you.
3. What exactly do you gain and lose by becoming independent?
Independence is often framed as freedom, and in many ways that is true.
You control your brand, your schedule, and your income. There will be less oversight and fewer restrictions. For some agents, especially those with stable systems, this deal works.
But independence also excludes the less obvious. This removes a second layer that many agents rely on more than they realize. The ability to sit across from someone you trust and make decisions before they reach the client.
The question is not whether independence is good or bad. It’s about being ready to make every decision without that layer.
4. Does increasing it actually help or is it just more noise?
The industry tends to respond to agent movements by offering more services.
More technology. More marketing. More leads.
However, more does not necessarily mean better results. Fragmentation often occurs. Now you have more tools to manage. There are more systems to learn. Organize your input further.
Ask if what you need is more or just more clarity.
5. Will this move change how I operate, or only where I operate?
This is where most decisions become clearer.
A new brokerage can offer different brands, different segmentations, and different toolsets. But if the way we approach pricing, risk, timing, and customer guidance remains the same, the outcome could be familiar. Execution here is separate from positioning.
The key moves are those that improve how you think through your work, not where you do it. The current wave of agent movement isn’t really about quitting. It’s about finding a better thinking environment.
For some agents, it will lead to independence. For others, it will lead them to an environment that is difficult to explain but easy to recognize once experienced. This is where your decision making becomes sharper because you are not making decisions alone.
That’s what many agents are actually looking for.
No more. Better.
It’s not noisy. More clearly.
It’s more consistent thinking within the chosen model rather than different models.
Deb Siefkin is a practicing broker and founder of RightSize Realty Associates. Connect with us on LinkedIn and Instagram.
