Momentum Realty Solidifies Itself In The Top 10 Real Estate Brokerages in Jacksonville, Florida
Congrats to the Top 15 individual brokerage offices in Northeast Florida on the successes of their agents and their customers!
There are some great brokerages in this group, and Momentum is excited to be right beside them in 2023.
Across the board, 2023 has been a challenging growth year for local agents and brokers.
We at Momentum have experienced a wild ride, too, with market sentiment swinging up and down amongst the backdrop of Fed hike increases.
Most importantly, despite the many obstacles that 2023 presented, we all came through as a realtor community that continues to serve customers at a high level. That is what we are most proud of.
The Top 15 list is based on sales volume in 2023 compiled from Market View Broker through RealMLS and according to our team's internal tracking metrics (Dec. 28, 2023 LTM Volume).
Volume is a traditional, vanity metric – who doesn’t want to be on a “Top” list? And such lists do have some value, as long as you recognize their limitations.
As with all data, it is crucial to put those numbers into context in order to understand the full story.
So, for agents deciding whether to join a brokerage, there is much more than sales volume to consider before you can make an informed decision.
For one, sales volume does not necessarily translate into sales profit, which is the ultimate bottom line. Nor does it reflect a brokerage’s mission, model, or working conditions.
Since 87% of agents fail in their first 5 years, it is essential to do some serious homework on all relevant data before choosing which brand you want to align with your business.
✯ Ask All the Basics
These are some of the top questions an agent should ask a broker when considering a brokerage change:
Who is leaving, and why?
A brokerage’s attrition rate -- and the reason why agents are leaving – is invaluable information. Agents leave for many reasons, from a toxic work culture to unsustainably high splits and fees to shiny objects. So, this information may be the most valuable to gaining insight into a brokerage’s opportunity and its culture.
Who is joining, and why?
What is your brokerage offering that makes it attractive to agents? Better splits? Training? Speakers? Additional Investment Opportunities? Ownership?
Who is succeeding, and how do you measure business success at your brokerage?
Is success considered just sales volume? Profit? Lifestyle? How did your most successful agents become so successful? There’s a wise saying that you become the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. Find out who that would be.
What are your agents’ lifestyles like?
Are they treated like employees with set hours or as entrepreneurs running their own businesses? Do they have free time to spend with friends and family?
✯ Dive Deep into Financials
It is absolutely crucial that you verify the brokerage’s financial model in order to make sure that it allows you to hit your profit goal within their system – while also doing a great job for your customers.
Sadly, there are a lot of top producers who, despite high sales volumes, fail to make a good profit simply because of the model they’ve put themselves into.
Typically, an agent's primary two costs are taxes and brokerage splits. So, you'll want to carefully evaluate your broker costs and the value of those costs to your business.
Would you have to pay for things you don’t want or need? What will your bottom line be after taxes?
Take a deep dive into your numbers.
Momentum has been shocked to find that many of the agents we talk to – we sit down and do detailed business plans with our prospective business partners – are only making money for their brokers.
This is antithetical to our mission to help agents build wealth through real estate. So, if you want a second opinion on running the numbers or considering your broker options, please let us know.
✯ Assess the Fit
Is the brokerage a good fit specifically for you?
Every brokerage has a different culture, mission, and workplace environment. In fact, Momentum often finds that agents who contact us are NOT the right fit for us, and we even suggest another brokerage – including our direct competitors -- that could better offer what they're looking for.
Some have called us crazy for this, but we only want to associate with agents that we truly believe we can help... not just another license from which to suck profit.
That means everyone who reaches out to Momentum gets a genuine conversation about whether our model is the best one to help them to hit their goals, or whether another brokerage might be a better fit.
Because it's not about us, it's about YOUR journey from Point A to Point B, and whether or not Momentum can get you there. #movewithmomentum #missiontoserve
