Fast-growing, virtual real estate brokerage arrives in Sioux Falls

Sept. 19, 2018

A national cloud-based residential real estate brokerage has entered the Sioux Falls market.

eXp Realty has about a half-dozen agents on two teams, and others are in the process of joining, said Andy Kontz, a broker with 17 years of experience who made the switch in late July.

“I expect to be at 50 agents by the end of the year,” Kontz said. eXp isn’t representing any houses on the market yet because the agents have been wrapping up their other deals, he said.

eXp, which was founded in Washington state in 2009, is growing quickly. In the first five months of the year, the number of agents almost doubled, surpassing 12,000. That has reached about 14,000, and the brokerage also is approaching 50-state coverage. South Dakota was No. 49, and West Virginia will be the final piece, said Rick Raanes, who runs the Texas Rockstar Group in Houston and recruited Kontz.

“It’s a virtual company,” Raanes said. “It’s what we believe is the future of real estate.”

The ability to operate without an office eliminates overhead costs for agents, Kontz said. “Most of the time I’m meeting with clients in their homes or at coffee shops anyway.” Homeowners won’t see any difference in the services they receive, he said.

Kontz said his team meets in person once a week and talks daily to go over goals and plans for the day. Rather than a classroom setting, eXp’s professional training is offered online.

The business model is a benefit to agents because it’s based on revenue sharing rather than profit sharing, Kontz said, and its 80/20 commission split between the agent and brokerage “is a little higher than traditional around here” in the agent’s favor. A small percentage of that 20 percent cut goes to the person who brings the agent into the company.

Agents who reach sales goals receive stock in addition to their commissions. eXp is a subsidiary of eXp World Holdings Inc., which started trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange earlier this year.

There’s also a revenue benefit because there’s only one company compared with an agency that might have several offices in one area and sales caps that have to be met for each office to reach higher commissions, Kontz said. In the Sioux Falls area, that will make it more lucrative for brokers to have licenses in neighboring states and also sell homes there, he said.

 

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Fast-growing, virtual real estate brokerage arrives in Sioux Falls

A national cloud-based residential real estate brokerage has entered the Sioux Falls market.

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