Adapting to intense margin pressures and fewer transactions will take rethinking revenue models. Some brokerages have gotten a head start by expanding opportunities for referral fees or adding property management or real estate investment.
“Generally speaking, the traditional brokerage model has become fairly antiquated,” says Rainy Hake Austin, president of The Agency, headquartered in New York City. “The firms that will survive will be those nimble enough to figure out their niche. It will not look the same for everyone.”
To follow suit, think about your brokerage broadly. Find ways to leverage its assets: your team and its expertise, your brand, your colleagues and even your office space. In addition to renters, sellers and buyers, consider how other companies, the public and even agents can be your customers. Start with these ideas.
Capture Income Across the Customer’s Real Estate Journey
Consider ways to generate revenue from customers at all stages of the real estate life cycle, like property staging and financing. Canvass your team to see if anyone has relevant expertise. Denver-based Heidi Cox, who leads The Heidi Cox Team, offers “property prep,” including in-house staging and furniture layout guidance, for an additional fee. If your team doesn’t have deep expertise in related areas, approach local businesses to negotiate referral fees or establish joint ventures or partnerships.
“Find operators who do those things well and would be valued advantages to your brand,” Hake Austin says. “You’re not trying to reinvent the wheel. You’re partnering with like-minded people where there are synergies.”
In late 2024, The Agency announced it had teamed up with Barrett Financial Group to start Aclara Lending, a mortgage lending service. About a year ago, the brokerage partnered with art expert, Arushi Kapoor, to launch The Agency Art House, an art advisory firm. This joint venture offers portfolio building, shipping, framing and installation and was profitable in its first year, says Hake Austin.
Florida-based The Signature Real Estate Companies has a long track record with partnerships. Ben G. Schachter, GRI, broker-president and licensed real estate instructor, realized businesses that rely on agent referrals would pay to pitch his team.
So, he created a “preferred vendor” subscription program. About 60 businesses pay an annual fee to be listed as a preferred vendor on the brokerage’s website and get access to its events and agents’ contact information. For an extra fee, they can speak at Signature’s annual meeting.
Some of these companies have become branded exclusive partners, which typically amounts to a licensing partnership. Signature currently has about a dozen affiliate companies, one per category, such as construction, pools, title insurance and pest control.
To avoid legal issues, make sure to comply with the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act whose regulations protect consumers during real estate transactions, Schachter says. In 2024, Signature’s affiliate businesses accounted for about 50% of its net profits; in 2025, that percentage rose to more than 60%.
Los Angeles-based broker Lolita Burghdorf of Burgdorf Group offers concierge relocation packages to overseas buyers. Her company earns referral commissions from its moving and furniture rental company partners. “This started because international clients needed seamless transitions into neighborhoods like Beverly Hills or Malibu,” she says. Burghdorf recommends curating three to five trusted local vendors per service, formalizing referrals terms upfront and bundling the offering into the buyer packet for repeat referrals.
Other potential avenues include appraisal, estate sales, event planning and landscaping. “Real estate agents have quietly become one of my most consistent referral sources, and I theirs,” says Steve Sylva, who runs Steve’s Services, a Massachusetts landscaping company. Offer a pre-listing prep package including quick curb appeal cleanup (fresh mulch, trimmed beds and clean edges), he says. “Find one solid landscaper in your market, build a repeatable system together and make it part of your standard listing conversation.”
Thinking Even More Broadly
Some brokerages have ventured off the path of the real estate life cycle.
- Create entertainment: If your brokerage is known for its content, take a cue from broker Ryan Serhant and make it a business, as he does with his cinema-quality production studio, SERHANT. Studios in New York. A Los Angeles-based agent, Josh Flagg, started Estate Media, a personality-driven media company that develops original IP and branded content across social and traditional platforms.
- Invest in real estate: Think about starting a residential real estate development arm and offering your team profit-sharing opportunities.
- Delve into marketing and advertising: Brokerages can sell ads on their websites or offer standalone marketing services, as with Serhant.ID Lab.
- Build brands: SERHANT.Ventures develops or backs brands, like RLTY Capital (a real estate tech platform and specialty finance firm), Major League Pickleball and Blank Street Coffee.
- Provide coaching: SERHANT.Ventures offers education and coaching through Sell It.
- Host events: About 14 years ago, Schachter created the South Florida Realty Expo, which generates revenue through sponsorships, booths and speaking slots. Two hundred vendors participated, and more than 2,500 real estate professionals attended the most recent event this past March.
- Sell software: Schachter’s company created TotalBrokerage, a cloud-based real estate software platform encompassing transaction management, CRM, e-signatures, commission tracking, accounting and compliance. Schachter ended up spinning it off into a separate company. SERHANT. includes a technology arm, SERHANT.ADX., and built S.MPLE, an AI-powered app automating administrative tasks.
- Rent office space: To defray the costs of her office rental, Atlanta-based Karen Hatcher, CEO and broker, Sovereign Realty & Management LLC, has rented desks to other local businesses, like a construction team and a maintenance company.
A brokerage can be a platform for many ventures. But just as you shouldn’t box yourself in—you should be choosy about what you take on. “There are pitfalls in diversification,” Hake Austin says. “When you start tacking on too many things, it can make you heavy and lopsided. People can lose focus trying to figure out how to run a different business line. ... Don’t lose sight of your north star.”
