Last year, Natalia Bassova, managing broker and owner of Resort Real Estate Inc., recruited a 27-year-old agent who’d been offered a position at a larger brokerage in Denver. Though the recognized name of the bigger brokerage was appealing, the agent declined the offer and went with Bassova.
“They came to us because we could offer something the bigger firm could not: the opportunity to build a book of business in two luxury markets without changing companies,” says Bassova, whose brokerage operates in Breckenridge, Colo., and Naples, Fla.
These days, the old rules are out when it comes to recruiting and retaining new agents. Up-and-coming agents are prioritizing mentorship and skill development, found Deloitte Global’s 2025 Gen Z and Millennial Survey. That means brokers have to adapt and make sure they’re offering the culture and the tools that agents are seeking.
In-Person Community
The pandemic popularized remote work—which is convenient but can also be isolating. “It’s often overlooked how lonely being in real estate can be if you don’t have a tribe around you,” says Rainy Hake Austin, president, The Agency. The Agency’s community-centered culture and clubhouse-like offices have helped recruit and retain agents.
“Agents will say, ‘I am being offered all this money [by another brokerage], but I don’t want to leave my tribe; this is my home,’” she says.
Customer Service
Beyond offering a top-tier tech stack, provide human support.
“We believe in having clear identifiable roles, so different people handle different parts of the work,” says Orlando-based Tom Nickley, owner of The Nickley Group, Keller Williams Realty.
Nickley says that taking the responsibility off agents—with the brokerage handling much of the work that surrounds the deal and the business—helps agents to prioritize relationship building.
“One person does the marketing stuff; others do the paperwork, so it lets our agents focus on their priority, which is the client,” he says.
Similarly, Baird & Warner, a large independent, family-owned brokerage in Chicagoland, provides dedicated support teams in each branch office, says Carolyn Anavi, director of brokerage development. And at The Agency, marketing and operations employees are cross-trained, so they can provide tech support or tackle tasks like creating flyers and calculating commissions.
Immediate and Ongoing Access to Deals
During her brokerage’s previous two recruiting cycles, Bassova noticed new agents inquired about deal flow before asking about compensation. “They were interested in how fast they would be working with real buyers and sellers, rather than how many open houses they would sit through first.”
Bassova says she puts new agents on listings with experienced agents as early as their first week.
“There’s no shadowing time when they sit in the back of a showing and observe,” she says. “They make calls to clients, make comparables and engage in pricing discussions, with supervision.”
Her brokerage’s year-round pipeline has also helped: “Agents never run out of something. Colorado ski season ends, and Naples’ season picks up. There are no dead months.”
Strong Social Media Presence
For some agents, the social media presence signals brand recognition, and they want a brokerage that’s really investing in that space.
“In the Greater Boston market, technology and multimedia presence are non-negotiable,” says Cyrus Vaghar, a sales associate at Coldwell Banker Realty and principal at Find Agents Now.
“We do not just use social media to sell houses; we use it to broadcast our culture. Many younger agents getting into the field have approached me directly and asked about our success purely based on what they have seen us post online. A strong digital footprint does the recruiting for you. SERHANT. just had a successful launch in Boston because they dominated social media.”
Training and Information
In an industry that’s always changing, frequent training to meet the moment is high on an agent’s priority list when they’re figuring out which brokerage to join. Along with providing hands-on mentorship, arm them with useful information.
Chicago-based Cross Street asked a general contractor to teach its agents about the costs of major home improvements, Managing Broker Michael Horwitz says.
When agents express concerns, that’s your cue to arm them with information. Recently, when his agents noted they were concerned about “missing out” on larger competitors’ private listing networks, Horwitz reassured them that 97% of listings still reach the public market.
Agent Success Stories
Informing prospects about successful agents has been the most effective way to recruit, says Crystal Olenbush, a real estate expert at AustinRealEstate.com. “People want to know what they can expect if they sign up to become agents. … Instead of saying, ‘Join us because we are successful,’ we show real numbers, real sales and real results from staging and strong marketing.”
Anavi agrees. Her brokerage encourages prospects to connect with one of their local agents to learn firsthand about the company’s culture and opportunities, she says.
Less Corporate Culture
With the consolidation of brokerages, many agents are searching for work environments that are less corporate and more personal. “We’ve leaned into our identity as an independent, local brokerage,” Horwitz says. “We have recruited several agents from larger firms who felt those organizations were becoming more corporate and detached from decision-makers, with increased red tape.”
Ownership
Once she began treating her agents like they had ownership in her brokerage, Bassova noticed an improvement in retention. “We introduce agents to listing strategy meetings, marketing planning and client relationship discussions,” she says. “They view the entire business, not only their transactions. They feel like partners rather than contractors due to that visibility.”
Olenbush has also learned to give agents a voice. “Keeping top agents is about partnership,” she says. “We listen to their ideas. We include them in marketing plans. When people feel respected and heard, they want to stay.”
