The industry talks about independent brokerages as if there are two options. You can stay small and local, or you can expand and lose your character. But there’s also a middle lane, writes new Inman contributor Colin Ziswiller.
When our team at Glasshouse Realty was chosen to be one of only two brokerages in the market to participate in Google and HouseCanary’s home search pilot alongside eXp, we felt it was more than just a technology opportunity. It felt like a signal.
It’s important for independent brokerages to be included in those conversations. This challenges the assumption that still exists in the real estate industry that innovation, visibility and access to key industry opportunities are largely limited to national brands.
This moment was a reminder that independent brokerages can still earn a seat at the table. We can be local, forward-thinking, agent-centric, and serious about technology. We can build systems that help agents compete while being deeply culturally sensitive.
At Glasshouse, we are at a stage where many independent brokerages are recognized. We’re not a small startup trying to prove that we belong, but we’re also not trying to be a corporate organization. We purposefully support agents who want to scale, expand visibility, and grow while adhering to the values that made people want to be here.
Growth forces decisions. We need to decide what is important enough to protect and what needs to evolve. You also need to honestly consider whether the system aligns with your values.
If you say you’re agent-centric, what does that look like as your company grows? If you say you’re focused on innovation, are you going to test new tools before the path becomes clear? If you say you’re locally driven, how do you keep those connections strong while building something scalable?
What Google and HouseCanary’s pilot focused on
Google and HouseCanary’s pilot focused on many of these questions. On the surface, it was about home searches, listing visibility, and consumer behavior. There was a bigger topic underneath. It’s about how independent agents exist in a market where technology is changing the way people search for homes, choose agents and interact with real estate brands.
Consumer purchasing behavior has changed. Buyers and sellers navigate platforms, search tools, social media, portals, and local websites before raising their hands. Visibility is no longer just about having a sign in your yard or a recognizable local name. What matters is that your listing, agency, and brand can be found where consumers are already looking.
That’s a challenge for independent brokerages. Many of us have strong local relationships, strong agents, and community trust. But if we don’t also think about search, data, technology and digital visibility, we risk losing sight of where consumers are forming their opinions.
That doesn’t mean independent brokerages need to copy national brands. In fact, I think the opposite is true. We have an opportunity to build a different kind of growth model that combines local leadership with smarter systems, gives agents real support and better tools, and uses technology to enhance relationships rather than replace them.
Technology for technology’s sake is not an end in itself. New tools are only valuable if they improve the experience for agents, clients, or both. The goal for us is not to chase every shiny object. It’s about asking better questions.
Will agents see value in this? Will they adopt it? Does it make their job easier, make their listings more visible, or better serve their customers?
Independent brokerages also have another advantage: agility. There’s no need to wait for layers of approval or a national expansion strategy when an opportunity aligns with our agency, our customers, and our values. We can move quickly and adapt in real time.
translate values into action
At Glasshouse, our values have always centered around support, transparency, access, and local leadership. These values aren’t just expressed on a website or in the words of a recruiter. They have to actually take action.
They appear when you have access to leadership, when your agents feel like they’re part of the conversation, when you invest in systems that help agents grow rather than just asking them to produce more, and when you pursue opportunities to increase agent and listing visibility, like Google and HouseCanary’s pilots.
That’s why this pilot was so important. It wasn’t about saying, “Look at us.” It meant that “independent securities companies are also participating in this discussion.”
The industry tends to talk about independent brokerages as if there are two options. One is to stay small and local, or to expand and lose its character. I don’t think that’s the only option. There is a middle lane.
Independent brokerages can thrive despite guardrails. We can build better marketing systems, stronger customer acquisition processes, and more strategic technology partnerships without being disconnected from our agents. We can expand while preserving our culture, hire a team without flattening our identity, and increase our visibility without losing the local credibility that made our brand so valuable.
But it takes intention. It requires leadership to be honest about the costs of not managing growth carefully. Companies need to build systems before they need them. And intermediaries need to understand that talking about culture does not protect culture.
Culture is protected by decisions.
Who do you partner with? What do you invest in? How do agents access leadership? How do you communicate change? How do you ensure that technology serves people rather than something you have to manage internally?
For Glasshouse, the Google and HouseCanary pilot was a step in that direction. It wasn’t the be-all and end-all, but it was a reminder of what is possible when independent brokerages move forward while protecting their values.
The next chapter in real estate will not be determined by size alone. It is formed by companies that can combine trust and innovation, local leadership and scalable systems, agent support and real consumer visibility. There is no opportunity for independent agents to keep up with the future of real estate. To help shape it.
Korrin Ziswiler is Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Glasshouse Realty. Connect with us on LinkedIn and Instagram.
