Brokerage leaders bullish on profits in 2026
Most executives in a recent survey expect to boost profitability and transactions this year, “while staying focused on pricing pressure, margins and execution.”
Key points:
- Delta Media's annual survey of 100 top brokerage leaders points to increasing optimism, with 85% of respondents anticipating higher profits, up from 63% last year.
- That confidence follows several years of financial and operational discipline as brokerages sharpened their focus on margins during the market slowdown.
- The biggest challenge for brokerage leaders? Recruiting top agents — a perennial concern.
Brokerage leaders are feeling more confident in 2026, with expectations of increased profitability, transaction growth and housing demand climbing to a four-year high — thanks in part to a sharp focus on margins.
That's according to Delta Media's latest nationwide survey of more than 100 brokerage leaders representing firms responsible for over two-thirds of U.S. home sales last year.
"Confidence has not faded. It has hardened," Michael Minard, CEO of Delta Media, said in response to the findings. "Brokerage leaders now expect growth while staying focused on pricing pressure, margins and execution."
More than 4 in 5 leaders predict profits will rise
According to the survey, 85% of brokerage leaders expect their profits to increase in 2026. That's up dramatically from 2023, when only 18% expected gains and more than half anticipated declines, and a notable increase from just a year ago, when 63% of respondents predicted higher profits.
Similarly, 82% of leaders think transaction sides will increase this year (up from 70% last year), and 66% say their firms will gain market share.
One reason for the renewed optimism? Despite low-to-moderate home sales, more brokerages remained profitable last year as firms tightened their purse strings while prioritizing efficiency and productivity.
"The shift reflects years of adjustment in staffing, expenses, and technology decisions," Minard said.
Buyer demand expectations tick up
Nearly two-thirds (62%) of brokerage leaders also expect housing demand to improve this year, while 33% expect no change. That's a notable departure from 2023, when leaders were evenly split on demand expectations, and up slightly from last year's survey, when 58% of leaders anticipated increased buyer demand.
While demand still seems to be stuck in neutral — due in large part to elevated prices and mortgage rates — buyers are more active now than they were a year ago, suggesting that sales could pick up in the months ahead.
Agent attitudes have been more mixed, with some noting that affordability continues to quell demand, but many are optimistic that sales will improve in 2026.
The economy is looking good too
After a year of economic ups and downs — including tariffs and trade wars, rising (then falling) inflation and mortgage rate volatility — more than half of the brokerage leaders surveyed (59%) expect the U.S. economy to improve over the next 12 months, while just 20% predict a decline. Confidence is strongest at the local level, followed by state and national outlooks — a pattern consistent since 2023, according to Delta's findings.
Still, the economic uncertainty that plagued 2025 appears to have dampened optimism for some leaders; in last year's survey, 66% of respondents expressed increased confidence in the economy. Overall, brokerage leaders don't foresee sharp economic swings in either direction in 2026, suggesting expectations have moderated.
But consumer confidence is what ultimately drives the real estate market, and it fell to its lowest level in more than a decade in January, according to the monthly Consumer Confidence Index. The extent to which that will impact buying and selling decisions this year remains to be seen.
Recruiting, productivity challenges remain
While most real estate leaders are bullish on profits and demand in 2026, their biggest concern — for a fourth consecutive year — is recruiting top agents, with nearly two-thirds of respondents (63%) citing recruitment as their primary challenge.
Roughly half of the leaders surveyed were concerned about improving agent productivity and recruiting younger agents, but just 41% said they were worried about reduced profit margins — a turnaround after two years of profit margins taking the No. 2 spot on the list of top concerns.
Other challenges, cited by around 40% of the leaders, included training agents on new tools, housing inventory constraints, and AI and technology adoption.
A shift in thinking around artificial intelligence
For many in real estate, AI has quickly evolved from a novelty to a necessity, with widespread adoption among agents.
In a separate Delta survey, 97% of brokerage leaders said their agents are using AI tools at least some of the time. The question, now, is not if brokerages will use AI, but how they can employ it to improve workflows, productivity and return on investment.
"AI is no longer a future concept," Minard said — but "the focus has shifted to structure and strategy," he noted, reflecting a broader change in how brokerages are approaching technology decisions with an eye on the bottom line.