The Industry Relations Podcast is now available on your favorite podcast player!
In this episode, Rob and Greg recap Inman Connect San Diego, discuss the current state of the real estate industry, and explore the hype and utility of AI in real estate. They cover industry gossip, shifting executive roles, macroeconomic forecasts, and heated disagreements on whether AI truly enhances the client experience.
Key Takeaways
- Inman Connect Recap
Greg shares his experience from Inman Connect, including a pre-party at his studio and the CEO Connect session. - NAR Membership Projections
Kevin Sears (NAR President) revealed current membership is ~65,000 above projections at 1.4M; however, NAR is budgeting for 1.2M members in 2026. - Agent Churn
Annual agent churn is approximately 20%, meaning roughly all members cycle every five years. - CoStar vs. Zillow Lawsuit
The buzz at CEO Connect centered around CoStar suing Zillow over image copyrights. Rob believes CoStar has a solid strategy involving strategic acquisitions to bolster legal claims. - Executive Moves
Chris Heller moved his team to eXp; York Baur (formerly of MoxiWorks) joined Lone Wolf—highlighting industry consolidation and competition. - AI in Real Estate
Greg sees promise in AI for marketing content, lead gen, and operations. Rob remains skeptical of AI’s impact on client experience, arguing that service still relies on human interaction. - AI Assistants and the Future
The debate intensifies around whether AI chat or voice assistants can enhance service or erode trust in agent relationships. - Generational Divide on Service
Rob emphasizes trust and high-touch service; Greg counters that efficiency and new client expectations may shift norms.
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These comments are why I have to yell at my radio as a listen to you both: “Agent Churn: Annual agent churn is approximately 20%, meaning roughly all members cycle every five years.” How many agents do you know that have been in the business longer than 5 years? 10 years (so two Churns)? 20 years (four Churns)? Almost all of the agents I know have been in the buisness over 10 or 15 years. So, NO, a 20% new agent count does not mean that all agents will churn out in the next 5 years. 20% new agent count, with no change in overall agent count, means the vast majority of newer agetns failed and left. I would estimate that maybe 5% of the seasoned, expereinced agent pool retires or leaves each year. The other 15% leaving are mainly new agents that found the business much more challenging than they envisioned. But NO, we do not get a fresh 1.2M agents every five years.
I stand corrected. I guess a better way of saying this is annual churn among NAR members is ~20%, but this is driven mainly by new agents leaving the business quickly. The majority of experienced agents remain in the industry for 10, 15, even 20+ years. So the overall membership base is a mix of long-tenured agents and a constant inflow/outflow of short-term agents. Is that better?