‘Unfiltered’: eXp’s bold play to ‘go further than the settlement’ 

NextHome CEO James Dwiggins has emerged as a significant voice on the topics that are shaping the real estate industry: lawsuits, innovation, leadership. But Dwiggins doesn't just answer questions, he asks them of guests on Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered, his podcast with Keith Robinson, NextHome's chief strategic officer.

On this week's episode of Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered, Leo Pareja — who moved into the CEO role at eXp Realty only five months ago — talks about the big decisions he was faced with following the NAR settlement, including how to handle newly required forms and whether to continue offering broker-to-broker compensation.

See why the hosts called this a 'masterclass on leadership': eXp and Pareja got in front of agents early, hosting a webcast — watched by roughly 50,000 people — to discuss the settlement just three days after it was announced. 

Soon after, Pareja quickly developed a buyer representation agreement "that anyone could read and feel comfortable with" — something that earned the company praise from consumer watchdogs — and shared it with the industry at large.

"The concept of shoving an 8 to 12 page legalese document in someone's face? Terrible. As someone who sold homes, that's just not going to work. That's adding friction to the transaction."

So they started with a blank piece of paper and hammered out something new. "I did go further than the settlement. I have the right as a business to make a business decision."

And his decision to make it publicly available? "Our position was, look, this is a cooperative industry, and I'm not talking about compensation, but just working with each other."

Speaking of compensation…: Pareja said that if broker-to-broker compensation was no longer allowed on the MLS, "let's just not do it at all, right?" That doesn't mean sellers who work with eXp agents can't compensate buyer agents, but the company will no longer facilitate that exchange. "We're just saying we want the seller to have a seat at the table and to be part of the decision-making process."

On buyer agreements: "My strong recommendation to anyone holding a license is you sign a buyer's agreement with the fee you're willing to work for to show property, and then you show them anything that's designated active inside of your multiple listing service."

That helps agents avoid any hint of steering, and soon, Pareja said, real estate professionals will wonder why they ever did it another way. "I think the agents that join our companies next summer will be, like, you guys showed properties without prior agency? What, were you, nuts?"

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in the Real Estate Insiders podcast belong solely to the podcast creators and guests, and not Real Estate News.