To all the agents in the house,
Many of you responded to my last OpenHouse about whether you care about company stock prices. I wanted to share a few such thoughts here, especially because they seem to double as feelings about your company's brokerage.
"Yes, I care!" proclaimed Walter Garett, an eXp agent in Modesto, California. "My perception of real estate company stock is that if the company is adapting and evolving with the changing of this vital market, it is worth investing in and being part of the company."
This seemed to be an overall sentiment. Agents do monitor stocks, even if they take them with a grain of salt.
"There are too many moving parts," said Judy Graff, a real estate broker in the San Fernando Valley. "I think Wall Street may be becoming a bit cynical about newish 'big guy' real estate in general."
Agents also expressed an allegiance, consciously or otherwise, with their brokerage. While Garrett thinks it makes sense for eXp to be publicly listed on Nasdaq, an agent for Keller Williams, almost certainly the biggest brokerage in the U.S. to not be public, gave a different view.
"Publicly traded companies have a difficult time making long-term strategic decisions, because everything tends to be driven by stock price, which is very much a quarter-by-quarter number," said the longtime agent, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about Keller Williams. "If KW goes public, I'm of the opinion that it will drastically alter the company culture, which is why most of us are here."
Meanwhile, the plunging stock prices of brokerages today is perhaps the norm, not the rosy market capitalizations that eXp, Zillow and others enjoyed one year ago. These companies are getting closer to "what would be their normal valuations," said longtime industry consultant Steve Murray, senior adviser at HW Media's RealTrends. "From my view, several remain overvalued."
Besides agent sentiment, a few companies like Compass and eXp, have offered stock options to agents, though it would seem these programs are limited in both how much agents depend on them for their livelihood, and how they affect the brokerage's business model.
I would be very interested in hearing from agents at Compass, eXp, or elsewhere who do participate in a company stock program. Please email me anonymously at mblake@housingwire.com.
Sincerely,
Matthew Blake
Senior Real Estate
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