If you want to understand how agents are really feeling about this market, the first-ever Cotality-ResiClub brokerage survey is a good place to start.
More than 200 agents across the U.S. weighed in on some of the most debated topics in the industry, including compensation, the role of the MLS, NAR, private listings, Compass, and Zillow.
One number jumps off the page. Over 90% of the agents surveyed say they’re staying in the real estate business, even as resale turnover sits near a 40-year low.
Byron Lazine and Nicole White unpacked the survey in this week’s episode of The Real Word.
Read on for key takeaways from both the data and their discussion.
Low Sales, High Confidence
On the surface, the data feels contradictory.
Existing home sales have hovered around just over 4 million annually for three straight years, one of the slowest transaction environments in decades.
Yet according to the Cotality–ResiClub survey, 92% of agents say they plan to stay in the business for at least the next three years, and 83% say they’ll remain for five or more.
One explanation is the industry may have already gone through its biggest shakeout.
After more than three years of suppressed transaction volume, many agents and loan officers have already bailed. What remains is a more committed, experienced group that has adapted to operating in a low-volume environment.
Maybe because their first experience of the housing market was a challenging one. Or, in any case, they learned early to embrace the suck and adapt to extremely sub-optimal conditions.
Which is largely why Nicole cautioned against taking the data at face value. When Byron asked whether 213 was an adequate sample size for a survey of this scale, here’s what she said:
“I think that it’s a little small. And I think it’s giving us a good snapshot of what… agents that have been in the business longer, how they feel.”
In other words, with 80% of respondents having at least eight years of experience, and nearly half in the business for over 15, the survey may be reflecting the confidence of seasoned professionals, not the broader agent population.
If that’s the case, this survey is more of a snapshot of the agents most likely to survive what comes next.
Who This Survey Really Captures
Nicole focused on an important detail missing from the data.
“Nowhere in here is it telling you how many deals these agents are doing. We have no idea how many units or volume or anything that these agents are actually doing.”
If you’ve been in the industry long enough, you know. Longevity does not automatically translate to production. An agent with 15 years in the business may be operating at a high level or closing only a small number of transactions each year. The survey doesn’t provide that level of detail.
There’s also a clear pattern in who chose to participate.
Agents connected to platforms like ResiClub and Cotality tend to be more engaged with industry trends and shifts in housing policy shifts, not to mention real estate business strategy.
Completing a survey like this requires a level of awareness and involvement that not every licensee maintains.
Byron addressed that gap directly:
“There’s a lot of agents across the country… if you ask them what Cotality or ResiClub are—I’m talking about just licensed real estate professionals—they’re going to have no idea. They don’t study the industry, they don’t study the market, they don’t try to connect the dots of national headlines to what’s going on in the micro in their market.”
The responses reflect agents who are paying attention and actively thinking about their business, as well as taking action to adapt as the market changes.
The dataset centers on professionals who are engaged in the industry’s direction and evolution.
The Fight Over Listings
If there’s one area where agents are not aligned, it’s how listings should be controlled and distributed.
The survey shows 56% of agents view private listing networks somewhat or very unfavorably, and 53% say they do not offer them at all.
At the same time, 67% say the MLS is highly or somewhat valuable.
That leaves a meaningful portion of the industry questioning or pulling away from the very system that has historically defined how real estate operates in the U.S.
Byron sees that as a risk.
“I mean to me it signals that 33% really don’t understand what the world without an MLS looks like… when you do not have self-governing in an industry, that’s when a monopoly is created.”
He pointed to international markets like the U.K., where a lack of centralized cooperation has led to dominant portals controlling access to listings. Matt Nicol, who joined the Knowledge Brokers Podcast on March 20, 2026, offered his perspective on the MLS.
In environments like his, agents and sellers operate in a pay-to-play system with less transparency and fewer checks on power.
The MLS, in Byron’s view, has long prevented that outcome.
“The one place we’ve always said, ‘Hey, we’re not going to have an advantage on inventory because it’s bad for consumers’… and the MLS has really set up this country to be different than any other country.”
At the same time, the debate is being fueled by growing frustration with existing systems and the rise of alternative models.
Nicole summed up the confusion many agents feel when looking at the data itself.
“The whole thing, all these numbers are just, like, ‘What do you guys like?’ That’s the thing I don’t like. I’m just so confused by some of these numbers.”
The result is an industry that’s no longer moving in lockstep. Some agents are doubling down on cooperation and shared inventory, while others are exploring more controlled, private approaches.
Where this goes from here will impact how listings are handled and how agents work within the system.
How Agents Actually Win in This Market
The survey points to an industry that is still active and still committed. The conversation from Byron and Nicole fills in what that actually looks like in practice.
Agents are having more direct, more structured conversations with clients, especially around compensation.
One-third (33%) of the surveyed agents report meaningful pressure on buyer-side compensation. Clients expect clarity on how agents are paid and what they’re getting in return.
From there, the focus shifts to how agents differentiate themselves.
As Byron put it:
“What am I going to do for services that is different than what you can get from any other buyer agent or do yourself on ChatGPT?”
That question is showing up more often as buyers come in with more information and more options. Agents are being compared not just to each other, but to technology.
Nicole pointed to how much that expectation has changed.
“I feel like in the past it really you haven’t had to really explain what it is that you’re doing. So it’s keeping it very transparent and some people might see right through you if you don’t really add any value.”
You can see this playing out in how agents are running their business day to day.
Byron emphasized the importance of investing ahead of results. He tied that to building a runway and planning beyond the next deal.
“We’re investing in the team for the future, not just for the next 90 days. When we’re building out ISA or investing in new seller leads ahead of schedule and increasing our listing appointments maybe a little bit ahead of schedule, those are all investments in the future to accumulate market share.”
Agents are putting more into their business and being more deliberate about how they operate.
He also emphasized how much higher the bar has become for communication and presentation.
“If your presentation skill is average, it’s not going to work. Your presentation skills have always been important. They’re more important now than ever before. And I see agents complaining on the feed all the time where it’s like, ‘I went into this and the seller didn’t get it.’ It’s like, ‘Dude… you weren’t prepared to present to solve their problems. You didn’t have enough solutions and you didn’t get the signature. Just own it.”
Consumers have access to more information and more tools, including AI, listing platforms, and a constant stream of content.
And with that, the gap between agents is becoming more obvious and easier to spot. Some are putting more into their business and improving how they operate. Others are continuing with the same approach.
Byron described where this is heading across the industry.
“Real estate agents are going to flow into two camps. The really wealthy camp and the broke agent camp… There’s going to be a poverty camp that grows, and the gap between the two unfortunately is going to get wider.”
What the data really shows is a group of agents who are still paying attention.
They’re adjusting how they run their business and figuring out how to compete in a tougher market.
And it’s getting easier to see who’s adapting and who isn’t.
