Right now, the strongest verified proprietary evidence behind this report is the client onboarding survey and the live ad-account data below, not recruiting-text volume. Once the underlying text-message export is fully analyzed, that will likely become the report's strongest evidence, and this page should be updated to lead with it.
What brokers say their real bottleneck is
Across brokerages surveyed over the past 3 months, 38% named time or the lack of a repeatable system as their core recruiting challenge, more than confidence, lead quality, reach, or offer strength. A separate but related theme, being unable to reach or attract agents outside an existing personal network, came up in 17%. This tracks with how these same clients describe their prior recruiting efforts: the dominant methods were word of mouth and referrals, several described as "very informal" or "organic."
What a smaller group of clients say drove agents out of their last brokerage
Within a smaller group of clients who answered a more detailed set of onboarding questions over the last 3 months, 83% named lack of support as the primary frustration. This matches a June 2026 industry survey by Real Brokerage of 153 agents: commission economics is the top factor in an agent's initial choice of brokerage, but support, culture, and growth opportunity determine whether they stay.
What brokers themselves say makes them different
Asked what makes their team or brokerage different from competitors, the single most common word clients used themselves was support (45%), ahead of leads and market positioning (38% each) and commission or splits (21%). In a related question, 80% named training as core to what they provide.
Consolidation is a live, current signal in the market
NAR's 2026 Member Profile reports existing-home sales at their lowest pace since 1995, Compass completed its acquisition of Coldwell Banker's parent company in a January 2026 merger, and Keller Williams created new dedicated "Growth & Attraction" leadership roles in July 2026.
What the ad-account data shows
Cost per lead on video-ad campaigns has run as low as $7.10 up to $38.51 depending on market and targeting. Applications per month at $30 to $50 a day in spend run 15 to 25 on the low end, with 5 to 10 converting to booked calls.