The ‘magical question’ eXp’s CEO wants every agent to ask 

eXp Realty CEO Leo Pareja has a reputation for publicly voicing his "quite strong" opinions. But he doesn't seem to mind.

As an executive who worked for years as an agent — and still holds an active license — Pareja acknowledged during a recent podcast appearance that, influenced by his own interactions with homebuyers and sellers, he has made comments "that could be argued is not in the best interest of the shareholders."

But he disagrees with that assessment. "I think if you create an experience that has the least amount of friction and creates the best consumer experience, that is long-term shareholder value, protection and creation," he said on the inaugural episode of the National Association of Realtors' "Change Agents" podcast, hosted by NAR CEO Nykia Wright.

The question every agent should ask: Pareja shared the story of an agent who, with help from AI tools, met with a lead just three days after the first contact — and remembered to ask the client one essential question: 

"My agent asked the magical question — which I implore every agent to not forget in your script — which is, 'How did you hear about me?'" he said, adding that this information is important because "then you know where to double down on investment in time and energy."

AI is helping agents gain new leads: And what was that lead's answer? ChatGPT, of course.

The home shopper had asked the AI chatbot to locate "the most investor-centric agent" in the area, Pareja recalled, and ChatGPT provided the agent's name and contact information.

An agent's digital footprint still matters, "but the pivot is that you're now creating content for the LLMs [language learning models] to surface you" as consumers look for agents.

The role AI can't fill: AI can ease an agent's workload, but it can't ease the mind of a buyer or seller preparing for one of the biggest decisions of their life — at least, not as effectively as an agent.

"It is a deeply emotional transaction. And whenever you insert that level of emotion, the 'Hey, I'm just going to talk to a robot and make an Excel spreadsheet' [approach] — in my experience, that just goes out the window," Pareja said.

Despite being a licensed agent himself, Pareja opted to use an agent when moving to a new state because he knew they would have valuable local knowledge. "Even as someone who's done 4,000 transactions, that Realtor being involved was a game changer," he said.

A concerning possibility: Only the U.S. and Canada can boast a transparent housing marketplace — and that's possible because of their organized MLS cooperative systems, noted Pareja, who has spoken out against the efforts of some major industry players to move toward private listings.

"What the rest of the world has is a pricing problem," Pareja said, adding that what "genuinely" worries him is that the U.S. housing market may start looking like those in other countries.

Financing support gets more complicated "in a confusing, opaque market that doesn't have real-time data," Pareja said. "I think there are unintended consequences some of the folks that are advocating for a different world just don't comprehend — or don't care."

Consolidation doesn't mean it's all over: As Pareja noted in an October 2025 interview with Real Estate News, consolidation is ramping up in real estate — and "that's not necessarily a good thing for consumers."

On the podcast, Pareja said he believes it's possible a trio of brokerages could hold 60% market share in three to five years. But that doesn't mean they'll be the only players.

"I fundamentally believe companies are collections of human beings. And the beauty of this country is you have the choice and optionality to say, 'OK, these are my people, and maybe this is the company I need for this chapter and season of my career,'" Pareja said, adding that he doesn't "fault anybody for choosing something else" if their needs change.