eXp is ‘prepared for anything’ as consolidation ramps up 

In the world of residential real estate, 2025 may be best remembered for some of the biggest acquisitions and consolidations the industry has seen — efforts that reflect an evolving brokerage landscape, and possibly a shift in how consumers buy and sell homes. 

So what will the future of residential brokerage look like as the big fish buy out other big fish? And what tricks do other major players have up their sleeves to stay competitive?

As the industry seeks answers and waits to see how large consolidations will unfold, attention is focusing on the leaders of top brokerage competitors — including eXp Realty CEO Leo Pareja.

Real Estate News checked in with Pareja this week to discuss his takeaways on what the latest consolidation news means for eXp, the industry at large and for homebuyers and sellers. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

What was your initial reaction to Compass' plan to acquire Anywhere? 

When you look at American history, when industries consolidate, it tends to result in three to five surviving large players. Look at telecom, insurance and banking — that's necessarily not a good thing for consumers.

We believe that we want to continue doing what's best with the consumer in mind as the North Star, and we're strong advocates for transparency. 

I do remind agents that, post-merger, we will still be the second-largest company — we're not far behind in second place. So I think that makes us uniquely well-positioned in the new world. We're fully scaled, we're well capitalized and we're agile. We've been able to adjust to just about anything the market throws at us.

What does this consolidation mean for eXp from a competitive perspective?

We can't be all things to all people. I'm super clear about that.

We're a platform for entrepreneurs to build whatever size dream they want. So we believe that there is a large swath of highly entrepreneurial agents who are looking more for a platform to partner with.

So, we believe that the brand is secondary. We tend to attract those larger, entrepreneurial solo producers and those who want to remain radically independent and be the brand in their local market, but be affiliated with an international-scale platform.

Compass is gaining access to a huge amount of inventory — does that change your attitude on private listings?

Not at all. I have the vantage point, internationally, of how much more friction there is to the consumer. So personally, this doesn't change our viewpoint.

One of the concerns is if everyone stops cooperating from a data-sharing standpoint, then we look a lot more like commercial real estate in the U.S. or Europe, Asia, Latin America. And what I've said on earnings calls is that I do not prefer that to happen because I think it's inefficient.

I think there's pricing issues for consumers. I think it affects valuations — a complete, reliable data set is substantially better than a fragmented, opaque one. 

With that said, our size and scale puts us in a unique position to be a very formidable competitor no matter what the rules of engagement are. So whatever the world looks like, I think we are well-positioned to be a very large participant in the new landscape. 

In a more commercial model, where only a handful of companies control the market, what happens to consumers?

I wouldn't say I'm advocating for it. In other industries, consolidation hasn't necessarily meant the best thing for consumers. But my commitment to the agents is that we will continue making decisions with them in mind being the consumer — which, in our interpretation, ends up being the best thing for the agent. 

The very direct answer is we're prepared for whatever the world throws at us. Glenn [Sanford] built this company in 2009 during a financial crisis. So we are nimble and have proven to have a super scalable, defensible business model, economically.

We're prepared for anything that comes our way. And we believe that if the world does consolidate into a handful of players, we're definitely one of them. 

Some brokerage leaders have talked about a great reshuffling of agents during this consolidation moment. Could that benefit eXp? 

Absolutely. I think that anytime there's a change, it makes people pause and ask questions. Agents are independent contractors who take the "independent" portion of that statement very seriously. So if there's any change, that creates the opportunity to review where you're at and find out if you're aligned. I think this will create questions. 

I've heard and read a full range of emotions from agents — those who do not agree with the culture and want to look for something else. I've heard some who are going to wait and see — those who are cautiously optimistic.

I've also heard folks be excited — because, you know, change can be good.