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In calendar year 2025, the U.S. recorded 4.06 million existing home sales—tying 2024 and coming in just below the 4.09 million recorded in 2023. That marks three straight years with the fewest U.S. existing home sales since 1995. However, when accounting for population growth, the slowdown is even more pronounced. The U.S. had around 99 million households in 1995, compared to roughly 135 million households in 2025. Adjusted for that larger population base, resale turnover over the past three years has been the lowest in more than four decades. You’d have to go back to around 1981—when mortgage rates briefly topped 18%—to find a lower level of resale turnover.
The fact that we’ve now been at historically low levels of resale transactions for just over three years—causing a wave of real estate agents and loan officers to already exit the industry—may help explain why, in our latest survey, 9 in 10 real estate agents say they still expect to be active in the industry three years from now. In other words, much of the industry shakeout has already happened (although it could still be lagging in some official industry membership data).
That’s one takeaway from the agent survey conducted over the past month by Cotality and ResiClub.
To better understand how agents are adapting and how they feel about the evolving industry, we conducted the Cotality–ResiClub Brokerage Survey 2026 between February 24 and March 13, 2026. A total of 213 agents participated. Notably, this is a highly-experienced group: 80% have been in the industry for eight years or more, and nearly half (49%) have been active for over 15 years.
The results suggest an industry that remains committed and forward-looking—though not without tension around commissions, private-listing portals, MLS modernization, and data control.
Here are the survey results.
Career sentiment remains solid
- 92% of agents plan to remain active for at least the next three years.
- 83% expect to remain for five years or more.
- 41% say they feel more confident in their long-term career than they did two years ago.
A little commission pressure exists—but it hasn’t been what the media headlines suggested back in 2024
- Roughly two-thirds say there has been no meaningful change in their commission levels since the NAR settlement in 2024.
- 34% report the most pressure on buyer-side compensation.
- Nearly 70% have not observed brokerage consolidation within their firm over the past year.
- 53% say consolidation has had no meaningful impact on opportunities in their market.
Private listing networks remain controversial
- 56% of agents view private listing networks somewhat or very unfavorably.
- 53% say they do not offer private listing networks at all.
- 68% say seller interest in private listings is about the same as 12 months ago.
- Agents are divided on structure, with 33% saying private networks should be discouraged entirely.
MLS value is high—but modernization gaps are clear
Industry favorability
- Among national portals, Zillow faces the most negative sentiment, with 39% viewing it very unfavorably and just 7% very favorably. Redfin and Compass show similar polarization, with more than one-third viewing each very unfavorably.
- The National Association of Realtors (NAR) also receives more negative than positive sentiment, with 65% somewhat or very unfavorable.
- In contrast, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are viewed relatively favorably, with roughly 72% rating each somewhat favorable or very favorable.
