It has been approximately five months since the real estate industry was shaken by the news that eXp World Holdings—the parent company of the global cloud-based brokerage eXp Realty—had acquired the rapidly growing real estate franchisor NextHome. The move was more than just a simple addition to a portfolio; it served as the catalyst for the holding company’s comprehensive rebranding and transformation into AGNT. Since the deal closed, the industry has watched closely to see how two distinct business models—one a virtual, cloud-based giant and the other a traditional but tech-forward franchise system—would coexist under a single corporate umbrella.
Nearly half a year into the partnership, the verdict from leadership at both entities is overwhelmingly positive. In recent discussions regarding the state of the merger, executives from AGNT and NextHome described an integration process that has defied the typical friction associated with large-scale corporate consolidations. Instead of the expected growing pains, the leaders report a period of accelerated growth and strategic alignment that they believe sets a new standard for mergers and acquisitions in the residential real estate sector.
Keith Robinson, the president of strategy at NextHome, noted that the transition has far exceeded the initial projections made during the due diligence phase. According to Robinson, the union has provided NextHome with the institutional support necessary to overcome previous hurdles that limited the brand’s trajectory.
“Anytime there are these sort of integrations of two different companies, you wonder how it is going to go, and you have hopes and expectations and dreams,” Robinson said in an exclusive interview with HousingWire. “But for us on the NextHome side, it has exceeded our hopes, dreams and expectations because the gating issues that we had as a company have been solved. The strength and size of the team now is bigger and better. Literally everything across the board has been a win for us.”
A Strategic Departure from Traditional Mergers
The acquisition of NextHome by the entity now known as AGNT occurred during a period of intense consolidation across the real estate landscape. Over the past year, the industry has witnessed several high-profile deals, including Compass’s merger with Anywhere and The Real Brokerage’s acquisition of REMAX. While these moves were often viewed through the lens of cost-cutting and "synergy"—a corporate term frequently used to justify the elimination of redundant roles—AGNT CEO Leo Pareja insists that his firm’s approach is fundamentally different.
Pareja, who was recently appointed to lead the newly rebranded AGNT, emphasized that the acquisition was motivated by a desire to acquire a high-performing platform and fuel its expansion, rather than to strip it down for parts.
“We bought a platform that we wanted to grow versus having the synergy conversation that every other company is having,” Pareja explained. “We kept the entire NextHome team, and we’re actually growing it. Our goal is to potentially quadruple the size of NextHome over the next couple of years.”
Central to this growth strategy is the retention of NextHome’s top-tier leadership. Pareja expressed a high degree of enthusiasm for working alongside Robinson and NextHome president James Dwiggins, both of whom are regarded as influential voices in the industry. For AGNT, the acquisition was as much about "human capital" as it was about market share.
“We are collecting leaders and humans throughout this very interesting moment in real estate,” Pareja said. “We saw an opportunity to get to work with other amazing leaders that are widely respected across the industry.”
Similarities Beneath the Surface
While eXp and NextHome operate under different business models—the former being a single, global cloud-based brokerage and the latter a franchise system—leadership credits the seamlessness of the integration to a surprising amount of operational and cultural overlap. On the surface, the two models appear to be opposites, but a deeper look at their infrastructure reveals a shared DNA.
Pareja pointed out several key areas where the companies were already in lockstep before the merger was even a possibility. Both firms utilize fully remote leadership teams, a move that has become more common in the post-pandemic era but was pioneered early by eXp. Furthermore, the companies share a similar technology stack, utilizing industry-leading tools like SkySlope for transaction management and BoldTrail for lead generation and CRM capabilities.
Beyond technology, the two companies also shared a physical infrastructure strategy, frequently utilizing Regus office spaces to provide flexible work environments for their teams without the overhead of traditional long-term commercial leases. Perhaps most importantly, Pareja noted a shared philosophy on the most pressing issues facing the modern real estate professional, including the controversial topic of private listings and the industry-wide push for greater transparency in commissions and consumer relations.
“There was so much alignment across the board, which was a very pleasant surprise,” Pareja remarked, noting that this cultural and operational compatibility has minimized the friction typically found when merging two large organizations.
Creating a Choice-Based Ecosystem
The decision for a cloud-based brokerage like eXp to acquire a franchise model like NextHome initially raised eyebrows among industry analysts. However, Pareja argues that the two models are not only compatible but also essential for capturing a larger slice of the total addressable market.
Pareja provided a data-driven perspective on why this dual-model approach is necessary for AGNT’s long-term ambitions. Currently, eXp accounts for roughly 4.5% to 5% of all real estate licensees in the United States. While that is a significant figure for a single brokerage, Pareja noted that even the most successful real estate brands in history, such as Keller Williams and REMAX, peaked at around 10% to 15% of the total agent population.
“We could be two or three times the size of eXp, and that would be it—90% of the agents will never be in our model,” Pareja said. “But by having a secondary option that we truly view as non-competitive to our format, that opens up greater potential for growth.”
To prove that the two brands do not compete for the same pool of talent, AGNT conducted an internal analysis during the due diligence period. They found that out of 5,000 agents who had left either firm in the year prior to the merger, only 28 had moved from NextHome to eXp. This confirmed Pareja’s belief that there is a "demarcation line" between agents who thrive in a virtual environment and those who require a traditional, office-based franchise structure.
This is particularly true for large teams and multi-office operations. Pareja admitted that eXp previously struggled to recruit high-level operators who were committed to the large-office format.
“The Keller Williams offices that just converted to NextHome, I actually had conversations with them 18 months ago, but it just didn’t make sense for them to come to eXp,” Pareja said. “We just did not have a solution for someone with six offices and a large management team.”
By offering both models under the AGNT umbrella, the company can now provide what Keith Robinson calls "optionality." In a market defined by volatility and shifting consumer demands, Robinson believes that providing choices is the key to long-term agent retention and recruitment.
“In moments like this, a choice-based model will win over a static one-choice model, and that is what we are building,” Robinson said. “If the cultures align like they do and you have a choice-based model, then it is really just about what flavor fits for how you want to build your business and for your financial future, happiness and fulfillment.”
Navigating the Runway Ahead
As the real estate industry moves toward 2025 and beyond, Pareja and Robinson are bracing for what they describe as the "financialization of organized real estate." This trend refers to the increasing influence of large-scale capital and the inevitable consolidation of smaller firms into larger, more efficient platforms.
Pareja predicts that as more franchise systems change hands, many individual franchisees will find themselves working under new ownership groups with whom they may not share a common vision. He sees this as a prime opportunity for NextHome and AGNT to pick up market share.
“What is factual is that there are going to be a lot of folks in franchise agreements over the next three to five years who now have a new owner,” Pareja said. “I believe a percentage of those franchisees are no longer going to be aligned with the new ownership group, and humans are humans, and they want to be aligned with companies who share their belief system.”
Despite the challenges of a high-interest-rate environment and fluctuating mortgage rates, AGNT leadership remains bullish on the future. Pareja referred to the current market as "separation season," a time when the most efficient and asset-light models will pull away from the competition.
“Being a nimble, asset-light model—that is why we enjoy the multiple we do on the stock market,” Pareja said. Even in a conservative scenario where mortgage rates remain high and total national transactions dip to the 3.8 million or 3.9 million range, Pareja believes AGNT and NextHome are positioned to take a "disproportionate share" of the market because they attract the most productive, full-time professionals.
The ultimate goal for AGNT is to continue refining the tools, systems, and processes that allow their agents to operate with more speed and efficiency than their peers. As the market continues to challenge those who are less prepared, Robinson believes the value of a professional-centric organization will only increase.
“In these market cycles, pros win, and we are two companies of pros, with agents at both companies making a full-time living selling residential real estate,” Robinson added. “The longer the market is harder, the more the pros will get.”
