It’s a new day for Real and REMAX.
Real Brokerage announced Monday that it will acquire the 51-year-old franchisor for $880 million. REMAX and Real plan to merge under a holding company, Real REMAX Group, once the transaction closes in mid-2026.
Real founder and CEO Tamir Poleg, REMAX co-founder and chairman of the board Dave Liniger, and REMAX Holdings CEO Eric Carlson are all bullish on the deal, saying the combined company will create a “more innovative, more productive, and more connected real estate ecosystem.”
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Technology was at the center of Poleg’s and Karlsson’s statements, with both leaders excited about leveraging Real’s technology ecosystem. Its ecosystem includes the transaction management platform reZEN. Artificial intelligence products Leo CoPilot and HeyLeo for agents and consumers. Real Wallet gives agents instant access to their commissions.
Real also has third-party technology partners such as Agent Image, Lofty, and MAXA Designs.
Tamir Poleg | Real Brokerage
“This acquisition is an important step in our commitment to building a technology platform that empowers real estate professionals and improves the consumer experience,” Poleg said in Monday’s announcement. “Integrating Real’s technology and operating model with REMAX’s global reach and franchise model is a transformative moment for the industry.”
REMAX has struggled with technology in recent years, shutting down its internal end-to-end technology platform, Booj, in 2022. Mr. Carlson joined REMAX the following year and immediately focused on reviving the company’s technology strategy, spearheading the launch of MAXTECH in August 2024.
At the company’s latest R4 annual conference, leaders teased the launch of a series of AI-powered solutions, including REMAX Marketing Studio and MAX AI virtual assistant.
But there is clear excitement in the REMAX camp about what reZEN offers, with Carlson calling it “differentiated, best-in-class technology.”
Erik Carlson | Remax Holdings
“… we believe [Real’s technology] “We are driving more choice, higher productivity, and expanded support for our network. Together, we will be in a position to deliver an even richer experience for all stakeholders, from agents to franchisees to consumers and shareholders, while strengthening the culture and flexibility that makes our brand special,” Carlson said in a prepared statement.
A Real spokesperson told Inman that REMAX franchisees have the option to continue using REMAX’s technology platform or switch to reZEN. This approach is different from Real’s strategy, which boasts a 100 percent adoption rate.
“You can’t be an agent in Real without using our technology, so agents naturally interact with technology. They can’t generate transactions, close transactions, or receive payments outside of Real’s platform,” Poleg told Inman in December 2025.
For franchisees who decide to switch to Real’s technology, here’s an overview of what they can expect.
Core: ReZEN
ReZEN is at the heart of Real’s technology stack, and the platform powers Real’s agents.
Update listing details and manage trade progress from contract to closing Generate and submit commission payment authorizations (CDAs) and trade record sheets Upload trade documents View listing and trade updates in a dedicated activity feed Track financials, including commissions Track progress towards annual commission caps Check commissions with the ReZEN mobile app Communicate with your broker and let your staff participate in internal events, including 150+ training and learning sessions, right from the ReZEN app
Real CEO Tamir Poleg said ReZEN is key to the company’s success, allowing it to scale without significantly increasing overhead costs. “Brokerage is a low-margin business,” he said in a previous Inman article. “If we continue to rely on humans to process transactions, if we rely on office locations, if we have to scale with more and more people, we’re probably going to fail. So for us, it wasn’t an option. It was a necessity.”
ReZEN allows Real to have one full-time brokerage employee for every 94 agents, which is more efficient than its closest publicly traded competitor, which has one full-time brokerage employee for every 45 agents. “ReZEN can help REMAX franchisees in any office transform their operations, increase efficiency and reduce costs,” Poleg told Inman on Monday, noting that REMAX franchisees can choose between REMAX and Real technology.
Beyond transaction management, ReZEN also serves as the foundation for Real’s other technology products, including a suite of agent productivity tools, Leo AI, Real Retirement, and Real Wallet.
Leo AI
In May 2023, Real launched Leo CoPilot as an AI-powered concierge for agents and brokers. Powered by Generative Pre-Training Transformer (GPT) technology, Leo uses reZEN data to become your ultimate assistant, answering your questions about listings, trading, commissions, stock programs, and finance at any time of the day.
“We’re excited to see how Leo powers the work of agents,” chief technology officer Pritesh Damani said in an Inman article about the launch of Leo’s beta. “We are confident that the power of reZEN’s data and the advanced capabilities of our bots will improve the ability of our agents to serve our clients and achieve their goals.”
Leo CoPilot has received several upgrades since its launch, and can now use agents’ ReZEN data to anticipate questions and proactively suggest “tools, strategies, and solutions,” automatically scan documents to flag mistakes before sending them to a broker, generate social media content based on property information, and provide a final payment summary after a transaction is completed.
Leo also includes a voice-activated assistant called Leo Companion. Leo Companion has three modes to help you adjust your response.
Support: This mode focuses on answering key questions about Real and its operations, from how to best use reZEN to calculating fees, revenue sharing, stock and capital, and other financial questions. Broker: This mode focuses on answering questions that require licensing or state-specific compliance knowledge. The companion retrieves reZEN data to automatically know how the agent is performing. Pirate: The company describes this mode as the most casual and conversational mode, allowing agents to ask a variety of questions.
Leo Companion can also connect agents to human support team members if they can’t get the answers they need.
“We have always envisioned a world where Leos proactively create personalized marketing assets and daily playbooks to increase agent productivity. That vision is now a reality. Real agents now start each day with a customized game plan and have a personal assistant responsible for executing it,” Damani said in 2024.
Leo also includes a consumer solution called HeyLeo. The first version of HeyLeo debuted in October 2024 as Leo for Clients. This allows buyers and sellers to “ask for recommendations of available properties based on your search criteria, access open house information, schedule tours upon request, and start applying for a mortgage” from Leo.
Real acquired Flyhomes in June 2025, integrated its consumer portal into Leo, and prepared HeyLeo.
Real released a beta version of HeyLeo last month. This includes HeyLeo.com, a home search platform that allows home buyers to search for properties using natural language. HeyLeo’s desktop experience is not yet available in all markets. However, buyers can still find listings by texting Leo’s phone number.
The agent side of HeyLeo, called Leo AiRM, allows agents to create a personalized URL (e.g. heyleo.com/agentname) and phone number to share with clients. When a customer searches via a personalized URL, Leo tracks the customer’s search preferences and starts suggesting properties that come on the market. Agents can get real-time updates on their dashboard, so they can track Leo’s interactions with clients and determine the best time to follow up for additional insights.
Leo AiRM is also in beta mode. But Chief Technology Officer Pritesh Damani and Actual Chief Growth Officer Jason Cassity demonstrated the product on Instagram Live in March, showing how effective the tool is in helping agents maintain a robust database.
“A busy agent is constantly receiving text messages,” Damani said during the livestream. “Deep down, we know that only a small number of these messages will convert, but all of them can become buyers.”
the rest of the real world
Real’s technology suite also includes:
Real Wallet: Real Wallet is a bank account that gives agents instant access to their commission income. Real Wallet also includes financial planning functionality, allowing agents to view payments, retirement benefits, fees, and other financial status on a dashboard connected to reZEN. Real Partners: Real has a small number of third-party vendors who provide technical, marketing, transactional, education and training, and client services support. AgentImage, Luxury Presence, HomeStack, Sierra Interactive, Lofty, MAXA Design, First American HomeWarranty, The CE Shop, and Contact Center Compliance are just a few of the companies on the list. Ancillary Services: Real has ancillary mortgage and title services, aptly named One Real Mortgage and One Real Title. Agents can get their customers pre-approved for a mortgage within reZEN.
What’s next?
Although Real and REMAX will continue to operate as two separate brands, leaders of both companies have expressed a desire for a more synergistic relationship, especially on the technology front.
“Nothing changes for the REMAX agents. Nothing changes for the REMAX franchisees. Nothing changes on the Real side,” Poleg told Inman on Monday. “What we want to do is take our technology and offer it to people who want to opt in and use it from the REMAX side. As soon as we close down, we’ll try to deploy it there. There’s going to be an opportunity for real wallets and our AI capabilities.”
Mr. Carlson continued, “REMAX has been in business for 50 years and has done a lot of innovation and disruption. REMAX is an iconic brand with very high consumer awareness. What I really love about Real is that they have a great culture and great people…I truly believe that the best days are ahead of us for Real REMAX Group.”
Analysts are also bullish on Real’s technology, with William Blair pointing to reZEN as a potential game changer for REMAX franchisees.
“We believe there is a significant opportunity to deploy Real’s technology platform (reZEN) across the REMAX franchise network, which could drive cost savings for franchisees who choose to adopt it,” they said in an equity research report. “While many REMAX franchisees still rely heavily on manual workflows to process at-home transactions, leveraging reZEN for back-office processes can potentially improve efficiency and reduce spending on third-party solutions.”
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