RE/MAX Holdings CEO on Industry Podcast: ‘We’re Leaning Into the Business’

REMAX leaders are innovating, listening to feedback, and working hard to help agents win listings, save time, and create more profitable businesses, CEO Erik Carlson said in a wide-ranging industry podcast on YouTube.

“We are leaning into the business to support our great network,” Carlson told the three hosts of the “Knowledge Brokers Podcast” in an episode that debuted in mid-August. “We’re focused on helping agents sell more homes. After all, nobody in the world sells more real estate than REMAX. It’s in our blood, it’s in our DNA, and fundamentally that’s what we’re here to do.”

In the hourlong conversation with hosts Byron Lazine, Lisa Chinatti and Tom Toole, Carlson explained how REMAX is being aggressive and “very purposeful” in its strategic innovations. By delivering what agents want and need – curated leads, database support, automated marketing solutions, social media tools and much more – the brand is helping position them to win in any market conditions.

Carlson said the “muscle” REMAX agents are building now, when the “business is harder” and annual U.S. home sales are near 4 million, will benefit them even more when market activity picks up and annual sales return to the 5 million to 6 million range.

By tapping into newly formed innovation groups and understanding which innovations could make a real impact, Carlson added, REMAX is able to make smarter, more impactful decisions in virtually every aspect of the operation.

“We’re focused on doing the right thing for agents,” he said. “We’re not focused on output; we’re focused on outcomes.” That means providing education, technology and services that help agents connect with customers and ultimately build their businesses. It also means helping agents create a better customer experience and view every closed transaction as a long-term opportunity for future sales and referrals.

Carlson sees real estate as a “people-focused, tech-enabled” business – with AI playing a key strategic role.

“We’re not just launching AI to launch AI,” Carlson said. “We’re trying to be purposeful in where and how we use AI and technology in order to improve the customer experience – for buyers and sellers, agents and brokerages.”

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Lazine applauded Carlson’s productivity-based approach.

“I’m hearing a very consistent theme here. It sounds like I’m talking to a team leader,” said Lazine, a Connecticut team leader himself who understands the value of well-trained, well-equipped, sharply focused and highly motivated real estate professionals.

Toole, a longtime, top-producing REMAX team leader in the Philadelphia area, agreed.

“The more you can help (agents) focus on selling houses, the (better) it’s going to be,” he said. “If you have the best process to help consumers, you’re going to do pretty well in this business.”

With the support of new programs like Aspire – a unique combination of economics, education and technology – REMAX brokerages are able to add recruits and nurture them into trusted, productive professionals, Carlson said.

“That’s what REMAX stands for,” he added, noting that agent count is only one piece of the puzzle. “We are dead set on growing market share, and I think we can do it through (adding) more agents and by making agents more productive. We have aspirations of being No. 1 in every market in the U.S., in Canada and worldwide.”

One of the most public examples of the new direction at REMAX, of course, is the digital-first brand refresh unveiled at the R4 convention in February. Carlson said he and the team are pleased with how the bold move is working out.

Given that so many consumers start their home-buying journey online, “we thought we could show up in a more modern way,” Carlson said. “It’s an evolution, and we’re really happy with it. So many (agents) have run with (the new design) and created great things. We’re very satisfied with the change.”

Chinatti, the Broker/Owner of an independent firm in the Boston area, called the decision a good one.

“I really like the (new) balloon and the way it’s presented,” she said. “I think it’s a good look.”

All three hosts seemed aligned with the energy and quicker pace Carlson and his leadership team have brought to the network – especially as other brands are pulling back.

“Everything you’ve outlined is practical,” Lazine said. “I think it’s encouraging to hear the CEO of REMAX saying ‘We’re going to be aggressive right now in the way we spend. We’re just going to attach it to seeing a return.’”