7 Reasons Why Agents Are Leaving eXp Realty In 2023

Did you know that the phrase “Why I Left eXp Realty” gets searched over 2,000 times every month? This tells me that agents are looking for reasons why agents leave exp so they can avoid making the same mistakes.

As someone who’s been on the inside of eXp Realty for nearly 5 years now, I see agents leave the company every day. I’ve also spoken to many of them to find out why.

In this article, I’ll outline seven reasons why agents leave eXp Realty so you can decide if it’s the right fit for you before making the move.

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Real Estate Agents Leave The Business

The first reason a real estate agent might leave eXp Realty is money. More specifically, many real estate agents feel like they’re not making enough money. This is why so many agents leave the business entirely every year. This issue hits all brokerages equally, for the most part.

Most real estate firms provide support systems to help agents succeed, but not everyone can make it work. Every agent must recognize that they are a business owner. This means creating business plans, predicting revenues and costs, planning lead generation sources, and going out and carrying out strategies daily.

The truth is that most agents who leave the industry do so not because they weren’t good agents but because their lack of business acumen led to failed strategies.

Unfortunately, many agents don’t understand this until it’s too late.

Wrong Expectations Were Set About eXp Realty

Many of eXp Realty’s agents are enthusiastic about the advantages of eXp Realty and try to persuade others to join them.

However, a real estate agent may find that they were set up with incorrect expectations about the company and what was required of them. They expected things to be easier or done for them when in actuality, it still takes a ton of effort to be successful.

This mismatch between expectation and reality can be frustrating and lead to agents leaving eXp Realty. It’s vital that you are clear about what is expected of you when you join any company, and that you have realistic expectations.

If you’re unsure what is expected, talk to multiple sources in the company before making a decision.

An Agent Thinks They Can Make More Money Elsewhere

As with many things, agents can be led to believe the grass is greener at a different brokerage. Especially true if an agent is performing how they envision in their mind, many can easily be led to believe it’s the brokerage’s fault.

It’s important for agents to understand that it takes time to become successful in any real estate brokerage. There are many examples of long-time eXp Realty agents who were at different brokerages before coming to eXp, and they’re now the top producers.

It’s not about the brokerage; it’s about the agent. If an eXp Realty agent believes they can find greener grass elsewhere, they may be tempted to leave. It is important for agents to understand that no brokerage is perfect and there’s always room for improvement-which eXp Realty understands and strives for.

An Agent Gets Overwhelmed

Starting at a new brokerage is difficult. The first few weeks of learning to use all the systems may be overwhelming and stressful. eXp Realty is a fully online brokerage, which implies you’ll have to spend some time learning the process.

Whether it’s kvCORE, Skylope, eXp World, or another one of eXp Realty’s tools, an agent can get overwhelmed when they don’t understand why they’re using them. A huge part of becoming successful in eXp Realty is understanding why you use each system and how it helps your business.

Although most agents do eventually understand why these systems are important, some know that there’s something they “should” be doing but don’t.

Some eXp Realty agents get overwhelmed and give up before they’ve had a chance to learn and grow at the company. This is why it is important for an agent to take their time knowing all they can about how eXp Realty works and what is expected of them.

An Agent Decides To Join A Real Estate Team

Sometimes an agent joins eXp Realty as a solo agent but then decides they’d prefer to be on a real estate team. Now while eXp Realty has many amazing teams throughout the country, not every agent can find the perfect team for them.

This is why it’s so important when joining eXp Realty to name a sponsor that you truly believe can help you achieve the goals you’re looking to accomplish. That way, even if you can’t find a team to join, you still have someone in your corner that can help you make it regardless of if you’re on a team or not.

An Agent Can’t Adjust To A Cloud Brokerage

Some agents are not able to adjust well to an online brokerage. It takes a certain temperament, personality, and skill set to succeed in eXp Realty. Being good at technology doesn’t mean someone will be great at it.

The hard truth is that many people are not cut out for this line of work. This usually shows up in their lack of growth, thinking that everything is the broker’s/company’s fault and not doing anything to improve themselves during this time.

Real estate is hard enough as it is; without a high level of self-accountability, working at a virtual brokerage can compound any lack of commitment.

Agents who decide they want to leave eXp Realty should be honest with themselves about why it isn’t working and why they think this company will be better for them.

An Agent Doesn’t Plug Into eXp Realty

One of the most common reasons agents leave eXp Realty is because they simply don’t plug in. Being a virtual real estate brokerage, it’s easy to become disconnected.

Agents who don’t join groups, participate in training, attend meetings, and use technology and tools can easily believe a more traditional brokerage is better.

eXp Realty is a very different brokerage; some agents simply don’t like it. However, agents who are plugged in have the most success.

There are a ton of amazing tools to find where you fit in. Workplace by Facebook, eXp World, and in-person events are some of the best ways to meet fellow agents and get the most out of eXp Realty.

An Agent Wants A Physical Office

In certain areas, having a physical office is more important than others. Additionally, some agents cannot work well from home. While eXp World is extremely convenient and effective, for some driving to a physical office and sitting down with someone face-to-face is preferable.

An office is unnecessary to run a successful real estate brokerage, but some agents believe it is. Many agents will simply leave eXp Realty because they feel a physical office will help them sell more real estate.

Agents must do what’s right for their business and themselves. While eXp Realty agents can lease or own their office space, this option may be too expensive.

Many eXp Realty agents come from Keller Williams and Coldwell Banker, where having an office is common. Therefore, when an agent moves to eXp Realty, they find out pretty quickly whether or not working virtually is for them. Some agents quickly move back to Keller Williams Realty or their previous brokerage or find a new brokerage entirely. Most, however, stay and love the new way of working together.

An Agent Joins For The Wrong Reason

One reason I see why agents leave eXp is that they join the company for the wrong reason to begin with. For example, many agents get excited about the opportunity to build revenue share.

Revenue sharing is eXp’s system for rewarding agents who help grow the company with a share of the revenue of any agents they sponsor.

Now while revenue share is amazing and it’s a great opportunity, it very rarely should be the main attractor or focus when you join eXp Realty. If you’ve been in real estate for a while and you’re well connected and looking for a bigger opportunity, revenue share can be the main draw as you already have your real estate business mostly figured out.

However, building your revenue share team can be difficult, especially when you don’t know the systems well. It can even be distracting if you’re also trying to focus on selling real estate.

So after a few months, if an eXp agent sees that they are not growing their revenue share as significant as they had hoped, they decide to leave and go elsewhere, where revenue share is impossible.

What agents don’t realize is that revenue share doesn’t cost them anything extra to build their business at eXp Realty. It’s paid out from the company’s side of the commission split. Therefore, most agents should view revenue share as simply the icing on the cake of all the other main benefits of eXp Realty.

Conclusion

eXp Realty has the best agent retention I’ve ever seen in a real estate brokerage. In fact, I’ve been with the company for nearly five years now, have had over 700 agents come through my personal revenue share group, and only 200 have left. That’s less than 30% turnover over five years. And over 90% of the agents who did leave never sold a home. Therefore, productive agents love and stay at eXp Realty.

eXp Realty is an excellent fit for agents who are looking to grow their business and want to be part of a company that is constantly striving for improvement.

If you’re an agent who is already overwhelmed or doesn’t think you’ll be able to adjust to a cloud brokerage, then eXp Realty may not be the right fit for you.

However, if you’re willing to put in the effort and learn all you can about how eXp Realty works and take advantage, this company could be just what you’re looking for.