‘Didn’t see that coming’: Real estate brokers react to Real-REMAX deal

At a time when it seems like most real estate brokers can’t agree on anything, one thing they can agree on is that The Real Brokerage’s John Wood, the broker-owner of North Carolina-based REMAX United, shared a similar view. 

“We get that mergers on Wall Street have to happen privately and we, as franchisors, don’t get advance notice, but the initial thought was ‘Wow! This is happening,’” he said.

Despite the initial shock of the news, Wood said he wasn’t too surprised because, in his view, “at some level all brands are for sale.” 

Housing market makes consolidation expected

Given the slower housing market conditions of the past four years, Phillip Cantrell, the broker-owner of Benchmark Realty, said Excited about Real’s tech

In the initial announcement, the two firms have expressed excitement regarding the deployment of Real’s technology across REMAX’s network, but some are questioning how that roll out will go.

“I think you are going to see a lot of uncomfortable agents,” Pemberton said. “Thinking about the seasoned agents at REMAX that are used to the systems and processes they have, now having to adopt an online portal — that is going to be a big change for some people.”