'Unfiltered': RE/MAX CEO on being ‘the best in real estate’ 

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 episode of Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered, Erik Carlson — the leader of one of the biggest global real estate brands — talks about his transition to real estate (during a very tumultuous time), his vision for RE/MAX and his best advice for other brokerage leaders.

Taking the helm: The RE/MAX Holdings CEO took the role in November 2023 in the wake of the Sitzer/Burnett verdict and the company's $55 million settlement — a deal that took a big bite out of profits at a time when RE/MAX was already losing agents.

Some leaders would look at that scenario and say, "No thanks." But for Carlson, "in times of adversity, crisis, challenge, chaos — however you want to phrase it — I'd rather run into the fire than run away from it. I love challenges. I love being curious, trying to innovate." 

But really… why did you want to lead a real estate company in 2023? Carlson came to RE/MAX from Dish Network, where, as the proverbial story goes, he started at the bottom and worked his way up to the top over 28 years — so he knew a lot about overcoming challenges. 

"Every industry faces adversity, whether it's lawsuits or competition. You focus on what you can control and then you game-plan around those uncontrollable events to get yourself more ready to respond," Carlson said. 

Meeting RE/MAX founder Dave Linegar helped seal the deal: "I thought, this is such a cool story. He's such a cool founder. He's such a great entrepreneur. I would love to come and work for this guy, and I would love to come and try to just finish out this legacy on a super high note."

Plus, Carlson said, at RE/MAX, "nobody's calling me if their remote doesn't record their favorite show overnight."

On future litigation and agent confusion: Despite the settlements and rule changes, Carlson expects to see more legal turbulence for the industry. "I don't think it's over for us, because I think that there's opportunistic people out there that got one bite of the apple, and they'll probably figure there's another bite to be had."

And many agents still feel uncertain about how the new policies play out in their day-to-day work. "In times of change like this, you want to know where the sidelines are. What is the rule book, right? When it's more ambiguous, it's harder," Carslon said, and it will "probably take a year to shake out until we get some clarity." 

Where is RE/MAX headed? The brokerage has struggled over the past couple of years, but Carlson is holding fast to the company's North Star "to be the best in real estate." And he is personally driven to make that happen — "I want to be the best, right? I'm a winner and I want to be number one." 

He also believes RE/MAX serves as a bellwether for the industry. "A wise person told me this: RE/MAX is kind of like the Dallas Cowboys. When they're doing better, the NFL's doing better. If I can help the industry do better by having  RE/MAX do better, we're focused on getting back to growth and doing great things again."

What should other brokerage leaders be focused on in 2025? "It always starts with people for me," Carlson said. "So if you could flip a switch and just have a strong culture with the right vision, the team, the motivation — with that, you can accomplish almost anything, whether it's known or unknown. So I would be working on the people aspect of my business and the culture and the tone that I want to set."

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.