Signs It's Time to Leave Your Real Estate Brokerage (and Signs It Isn't)

Agents almost never leave a brokerage over the split alone, even though the split is the reason they give. They start looking when the brokerage stops showing up for them: a managing broker who doesn't call back, a company that got sold out from under them, or a split they can't connect to anything they actually use. If two or more of the signs below describe you, it's time to look. If the problem is your pipeline, a new brokerage won't fix it, and I'll tell you how to tell the difference.

By D.J. Paris, president of sales and marketing at Kale Realty and host of the Keeping It Real Podcast. I recruit agents for a living, so read this knowing that. I've also spent years asking top producers on the show why they moved, and their answers are below with the episode for each.

Why agents actually leave: the data

Ask an agent why they switched and you'll usually hear about money. Ask them what happened in the six months before they started looking and you'll hear something else. The research lines up with what I hear on calls every week.

Put those together and a pattern shows up. Compensation is what agents say when they leave, because it's the easiest reason to say out loud. Support, leadership, and culture are what started them looking, and a change at the firm is often what finally set them off.

Jack Miller, who runs the industry research firm T360, put it more bluntly on my show:

People don't leave the brokerage that they're with because of a commission issue. … Somebody did something they didn't like. Their broker didn't show up for them in a critical moment. Jack Miller, T360, on Keeping It Real (December 2, 2024)

He's not saying money doesn't matter. He's saying agents will pay for value, and they leave when they stop seeing it.

Eight signs it's time to leave your brokerage

1. You can't name what your split buys

Add up everything you paid your brokerage last year: the split, the cap, monthly fees, transaction fees, royalties, E&O. Then try to list what came back. If the list is short, or it's mostly things you could buy yourself, that's a sign.

Sam Sawyer, CEO of Pinnacle Realty Advisors, described the feeling exactly when he talked about his own years at traditional firms: "I had a really good split, but I still didn't see the value." He added that firms "provide all these tools that you can go get for $20 a month on your own." I wrote a separate guide that walks through the full audit: what am I paying my brokerage for?

2. Your managing broker doesn't call back

You had a contract question at 7 p.m. and got an answer two days later. You've stopped asking because asking doesn't produce anything. Support is the core of what you pay a brokerage for. If you can't get help when a deal is on the line, nothing else the brokerage offers makes up for it.

3. Nobody noticed your best year

You doubled your production and nobody at the office said a word. Or you've been there eight years and the new owner doesn't know your name. Feeling unseen sounds soft, but it's a practical signal: a brokerage that doesn't know what you're doing can't help you do more of it. Culture was the top reason in the Inman data, and this is usually what agents mean by it.

4. Your clients came from you, not the logo

Go through your last ten closings and write down where each one came from. If almost all of them came from your sphere, past clients, and referrals, the brand isn't what's producing your business. That's normal, by the way. It just means you should judge the brokerage on what it does for you, not on the name on your sign. I go deeper on this in does your brokerage brand bring you clients?

5. The company changed underneath you

Your brokerage was sold, merged, or got a new owner, and the people you trusted left or went quiet. In Chicago that's a lot of agents right now, with @properties, Coldwell Banker, Century 21, and Sotheby's all now under Compass. A sale doesn't automatically make your brokerage worse. But if your split, your fees, your managing broker, or your rules change, you're allowed to re-decide. You'd be in good company: just over half of the written answers in Inman's survey of switchers described exactly this.

6. You're paying for things you don't use

Training you never attend. A desk you haven't sat at since 2020. Leads that never arrived. A brand campaign aimed at consumers who don't know what brokerage you're with. If the services you'd actually use are a small slice of what you're paying for, a different model may fit better.

7. You've outgrown the model

A percentage split with no cap can make sense when you're new and need hands-on help. At 25 deals a year, the same split can cost tens of thousands of dollars more than a capped or flat-fee model, for help you've stopped needing. Run your own numbers on the Chicago brokerage fees page.

8. You can't build your own name

Some brokerages limit your own signs, logo, or marketing. Megan Walters, who closed 66 deals at 28, said that was the biggest reason she moved: "I could not have my own sign. I could not have my own logo." Her line to her old brokerage is worth remembering: "You're, you're incredible. I'm grateful for it, but you're not my business."

Five signs you should stay (at least for now)

I'd rather you stay at a brokerage that's working than move to mine for the wrong reason. These are the signs the problem isn't the brokerage.

• You haven't asked. Kevin Van Eck, then an executive at @properties and Christie's International Real Estate, gave this advice on the show: "I would first talk with your current brokerage and make sure that you're not missing something there." Agents are busy and miss emails. The tool or support you want might already be there.
• Your real problem is your pipeline. If you're short on deals, a new brokerage rarely fixes that by itself. Start with how to get more real estate leads and come back to this page in 90 days.
• You have a mentor who answers. If someone at your office picks up when you call with a hard question, that's worth a lot, especially in your first few years.
• You're chasing a signing bonus or a pitch. If a recruiter's offer is the only reason you're looking, slow down. Promises are easy to make in a recruiting meeting.
• You had one bad quarter. Every brokerage looks worse in a slow market. Judge it on the last two years, not the last two months.

The 10-question self-check

Answer yes or no. Be honest, because nobody's grading this.

1. Can you list five things your brokerage did for you in the last 12 months?
2. When you call your managing broker with a deal problem, do you get help the same day?
3. Does anyone in leadership know what you closed last year?
4. Did you attend any of your brokerage's training in the last six months?
5. Did any of your last ten clients come from the brokerage (leads, relocation, walk-ins, the company site)?
6. Are your split and fees the same as when you joined, or better?
7. Are the people who recruited you still there?
8. Can you market yourself under your own name the way you want to?
9. Do your commission checks arrive when you expect them?
10. If your best friend got licensed tomorrow, would you tell them to join your brokerage?

Seven or more yes answers: your brokerage is probably earning its fee. Fix the specific no's by talking to your broker. Four to six: have a direct conversation with your managing broker about the no's, and give it 60 days. Three or fewer: it's time to look around.

What to do before you leave

1. Talk to your current broker. Say what isn't working and what would keep you. Write down what they say and when they say it'll change.
2. Run the audit. Total what you paid last year and list what you used. The brokerage audit walks through it.
3. Interview at least three brokerages. Ask how they've helped agents like you, and ask for specific examples. Use the questions to ask before joining a brokerage.
4. Call their agents yourself. This is the step most agents skip. I said it on the show and I'll say it here: "call three of their agents, people that you respect, that you admire, and that are not referred to you by the person you're talking to." Every brokerage says it has the best support. Their agents will tell you if that's true.
5. Plan the move. Pending deals, listings, and your license transfer all have a process. In Illinois it's covered step by step in how to switch real estate brokerages in Illinois.

Frequently asked questions

Still deciding? Book 10 minutes with D.J. I'll call you and we'll talk it through.