eXp enters the franchise business with NextHome acquisition 

eXp Realty is making a big move into the real estate franchise space, continuing the industry's consolidation trend with its acquisition of NextHome, Inc.

The deal, announced May 7, adds an important element to eXp's brokerage business. The company's real estate professionals can now choose between franchise ownership and the cloud-based model that made eXp the third-largest U.S. brokerage by sales volume in 2025.

Financial terms have not been disclosed, but eXp said it used existing cash on hand to fund the acquisition, which has been completed. 

The NextHome brand will remain in place, and its co-CEOs — James Dwiggins and Keith Robinson — will assume the roles of president and president of strategy, respectively. NextHome will continue to operate as a separate franchise brand with its own compensation structure and business model, eXp Realty CEO Leo Pareja explained.

A closer look at the two firms

With more than 500 franchisees across the U.S., NextHome is a fast-growing franchise brand. Led by Dwiggins and Robinson — who are widely known in the industry for their popular Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered podcast — NextHome had over 5,400 agents and more than 30,600 transaction sides in 2025, according to T3 Sixty's Real Estate Almanac. (Note: Real Estate News is an editorially independent division of T3 Sixty.)

eXp meanwhile tallied $4.77 billion in revenue last year and ended 2025 with just over 83,000 agents, the company reported during an earnings call earlier this year.

eXp leans into consumer, agent choice

The acquisition provides what eXp described as a proven, scalable franchise that will grow with support from eXp's ecosystem.

"The industry has reached a tipping point, [and] a one-size-fits-all model no longer works for the visionary entrepreneur," Pareja said in a news release.

"Teams and agents need more paths forward, and the industry needs companies led by people who don't just talk about being agent-centric, but live it," Pareja added. "We're building a platform that supports multiple models, because every agent, and every consumer served, deserves choice."

He also called the move "a perfect cultural and strategic match."

Creating 'a more robust company'

In a follow-up email, Pareja noted that in a shifting market, resilience is the ultimate competitive advantage. By moving from a single brokerage model to a multi-platform business, Pareja said eXp will have a model that fits the moment, whatever the market looks like.

"By diversifying our model, we've created a more robust company — one that gives our agents more ways to serve clients and more tools to grow their business," Pareja said.

"And in this landscape, our competitive edge remains our DNA," he added. "We are and always have been built by agents, built for agents. And no matter how an entrepreneur chooses to build, they have a home within our ecosystem. We aren't just surviving the change; we are the ones defining it."

A new name on Wall Street

In conjunction with the acquisition — and in line with its "built by agents, built for agents" philosophy — eXp said it will begin trading under a new ticker symbol on Nasdaq when markets open on May 8. The company said the change — from EXPI to AGNT — reflects its focus on empowering independent agents and brokers under its newmmulti-platform model.

"Every decision we make at eXp is in service of our agents and their customers, and now that mission is reflected in our market identity," Pareja said. "This is a proud moment for our entire community, and I look forward to building on this momentum as we continue to redefine what it means to be an agent-centric real estate platform."

NextHome leaders in it 'for the long haul'

Dwiggins said NextHome was looking for a partner that matched the company's "Humans Over Houses" mission of prioritizing the people who are buying and selling real estate.

"We looked at every real estate company across the U.S., and eXp aligns with us the most — from company culture to philosophy to a leadership team that truly advocates for agents and consumers," Dwiggins said.

He thinks of the acquisition as the second chapter in NextHome's story, and both he and Robinson are "here for the long haul," he said. 

"Our goal is to grow NextHome into one of the top five franchise brands in the U.S., and we've never been more equipped to do that," Dwiggins said in an email. "With eXp's resources and capital behind us, we now have what we need to grow exponentially in today's competitive landscape. Being backed by a company of eXp's scale is a significant advantage, and we're ready to make the most of it."

Consolidation was bound to happen, said NextHome CEO

Asked whether the recent consolidation trend influenced this move, Dwiggins acknowledged that in some ways the writing was on the wall.

"We recognized early on how this story was going to play out. Leo and I have both been saying publicly, in keynotes throughout 2025, that if the industry continues to privatize listings and move away from transparency, companies would be forced to consolidate," Dwiggins said.

"But truthfully, there was only one company that truly aligned with us, and that was eXp."

A wave of M&As

The acquisition is the latest amid a transformative few months in major M&As. Just last week, The Real Brokerage announced plans to acquire REMAX in an $880 million deal — a development that some have described as an inevitability for REMAX and the "best possible scenario" for Real.

Meanwhile, Compass closed its acquisition of Anywhere Real Estate in January — less than four months after first announcing the deal. The move created the world's largest brokerage with around 340,000 agents servicing about 120 countries and territories.