The warning signs an agent may leave your brokerage — and what to do about them

Real estate agents are more likely to leave a brokerage because of leadership, culture and the support they receive than because of a slowdown in sales, according to a new industry report. The Agent Migration and Brokerage Model Performance Report — Q3 2026, released Monday by Recruiting Insight in partnership with Lone Wolf Technologies, also shows roughly one in eight producing agents changing brokerages each year Researchers analyzed closing records for 109,176 producing agents and $688.6 billion in annualized closed volume across four of the nation’s largest multiple listing services (MLS), covering the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Mid-South and West. Findings suggest brokerages should look beyond sales figures to identify agents who may be considering a move. Agents whose production declined by more than 25% were no more likely to change firms than other agents, while those who had changed firms in the previous year were 1.7 times as likely to move again. Mark Johnson — managing partner of Recruiting Insight and author of the report — said agents’ business histories and workplace experiences can offer more meaningful clues than production alone. “One of the leading indicators we d...