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Leo Pareja believes there is something that sets him apart from many other real estate executives today.
“In fact, I spent 16 years of my life sitting across from people at the kitchen table,” Pareja recently told Inman. The key point is that we have been working on the front lines as agents that interact with consumers.
Leo Pareja
Pareja currently serves as CEO of eXp Realty. This puts him in charge of a company that has become one of the real estate industry’s most famous success stories in recent years. And it gives him a vantage point to advocate for the world he wants to see. He has recently used this advantage to defend Clear Coordination.
Pareja will appear on stage at Inman Connect New York next month. Prior to his appearance, Mr. Pareja spoke with Mr. Inman by phone to discuss the future of the company and the industry. The takeaway from this conversation was that he, among other things, believes change is inevitable and that technology holds promise. He argued that abandoning the values of clear collaboration risks destroying America’s unique MLS-based real estate landscape.
Below is a version of that conversation, edited for length and clarity.
Inman: What message would you like to convey to industry stakeholders when you take the stage at Inman Connect New York next month?
Leo Pareja: One of the things we’ve been talking about is that change is inevitable in this industry. I’ve been doing this job for 23 years, and there’s never been a year where I felt like, “This is average.” It almost always feels like it’s going up or down. It’s tough, you’re busy, right? Because it’s never easy. It’s either we’re struggling or there’s an overwhelming amount of activity.
My biggest takeaway this year is that at the end of the day, you too want to be a market participant and help families experience this very difficult, expensive, emotional, and rare transaction. I think he was like, “Huh?” If the answer is yes, we welcome you into our space with open arms.
I think we are stuck in an internal baseball game of jargon and rules. For example, “Do you understand?” [buyer broker agreement] Was the disclosure timed perfectly? “But at the end of the day, young families who have never done this before need professionals to provide them with as much information, education, and guidance as possible to help them make the best decisions for themselves and their families.” It just is.
Inman: You said that change is inevitable. How exactly has eXp changed? For example, how would the experience be different if I joined you two years ago versus today?
Two years ago, we were new to the industry.
Since you chose 24 months, I’ll go with that. If you look at the last 24 months, almost all of the growth has come from models that are very similar to ours. We moved from a niche idea of cloud brokerage to a way for new companies to grow. Whether I happen to be running this company or not, looking at it agnostically from a distance, there seems to be the most energy and excitement around a cloud-based virtual corporate ownership model. I think so. Almost all new competitors are more similar to us than traditional companies.
And we’ve grown from a cool, unique model to the best brokerage firm on the planet. So, is it possible to pay agents faster? Can I answer that? [agents’] Do you want to take your questions and provide the broker support you need 24/7 with 30 second hold times?In fact, we’re obsessed with operational excellence at scale. Because if we become less special purely on model and more companies look like us, the differentiator for me is value and service and just the complete value stack.
So, [we’re] We focus on training and education products. And do you have the best possible third-party technology stack?
One of the important things is that I recognize that I serve many constituents. We approach this from the perspective of, “How will this make my life faster, stronger, better?” [eXp World Holdings CEO Glenn Sanford’s] The North Star is now super clear. That’s the first thing he said to me when he tried to get me here. We were like, “We want to be the most agent-centric company on the planet.” And that’s how he makes all his decisions. That’s literally the only instruction I’ve received since I’ve been here.
Inman: If that’s your North Star, what are your goals for next year?
How can we provide the best tools and education to enable agents to serve consumers while limiting their liability to themselves and their customers?
We also remain on the cutting edge of what is considered cutting-edge technology. With the introduction of AI, you can now have a co-pilot-like experience. Now you can proofread your spelling in ChatGPT while maintaining tone and context. Edit or correct punctuation and move sentences correctly. And that’s just one implementation.
The same can be done for any kind of weakness in your creative, graphic, or general personality or ability profile.
So we’re really experimenting with what kind of AI upgrades we can make throughout the experience.
I’d like to talk now about Clear Coordination, which you have been a vocal supporter of. Where will this issue go next?
If you remember my background, I’ve built some MLS technology, so I know a lot about MLS technology. Years ago, I actually spoke to the Japanese and Australian Government Associations when they wanted ours. And they said, “How does that work?” And I said, “MLS has two sides of the same coin: cooperative rewards and forced participation.”
For me, it was the glue that created the North American real estate market. And frankly, this year we lost half of that value proposition. It was deleted, right?
Another thing that I have a lot of emotional attachment to is the concept of “I’m going to do marketing.” [a listing] Off market. And if I don’t get the behavior I want, I’ll take it to market. ” Do you understand that the concept of off-market only exists if there is a market? And some people on the other side of the debate are simply missing the forest for the trees. That’s what I think.
We’re still fierce competitors, right? And that’s what I say to the Department of Justice and other detractors. We are fighting to the death for these deals. We compete on value, service, cost and everything else.
This third party enforces the rules of engagement in the subscriber agreement, and we all agree to abide by these rules. But if I’m going to hold off-market real estate and still want my IDX feed to appear side-by-side with inventory, I have a problem.
So if they do that, I’m going to do that too. And Redfin is trying to do just that. And Anywhere is going to do it. That way we can tell you exactly what it’s like. That’s what I have to deal with in continental Europe, where I have an agent who moved to France from Southern California.
She pulled me aside and said: “Did you know that when expats come to look at properties here in the South of France, they have to visit eight to 10 websites to know exactly what is available?”
That’s inefficient. How does it benefit consumers?
In fact, I spent 16 years of my life sitting across from people at the kitchen table. Not once has a seller looked me in the eye and said, “I want to sell my house, but don’t you have the guts to put it on the MLS?” That will never happen.
That should be the exception: law enforcement or certain celebrities, it’s an argument often made on the other side. Well, it’s about 1%. But just like anything else in life, they will have to sign a disclosure form like this: [percent] Because that’s what the data shows. ”
Look, you can sign the disclosure. That’s your right. However, if you do not want to participate, you will not be able to access your data. It’s that simple. There is nothing that says you have to join NAR to join MLS. If you want to do real estate transactions, all you need to do is get a license. You are a salesperson and can represent people according to state law.
But I’ve done this on a very real level for many years. So I feel like I have a very different perspective than the average executive who doesn’t.
Email Jim Dalrymple II
