Keller Williams, LPT start the year with recruiting wins
While the firms are operating at very different scales, they're each focused on growth, with KW gaining ground in Toronto and LPT nabbing 11 Livian teams.
Several brokerage companies are starting the year with big recruiting wins. Two of the latest gets were announced by firms at very different phases of growth: Industry giant Keller Williams and relative upstart LPT Realty.
KW has been talking a lot about growth in recent months, with President and CEO Mark Willis asserting last August that Keller Williams is "the best equipped to grow" in the current environment. LPT, meanwhile, has attracted a number of top teams, including the 1,200-agent Big Block Realty, citing its hybrid model as a major draw.
KW gains 550 agents in Toronto
Living Realty, Inc., a longtime full-service brokerage and subsidiary of the Living Group of Companies, is affiliating with Keller Williams Realty, the company announced today. Starting in March, the Toronto-area firm will operate as KW Living Realty.
The move adds another 550 agents and 35 staff members to the Keller Williams family, making KW Living Realty the largest KW market center in Canada by agent count, the company said. The new market center will continue to serve the Greater Toronto Area from its headquarters in Markham, Ontario, and five additional branches.
It's a big transition for Living Realty, an independent firm since its founding in 1980, and a big win for KW: Living Realty has achieved $1.1 billion in sales since January 2023, and the move bolsters KW's agent count, which declined from around 189,000 in May 2023 to 173,000 in July 2024, according to Willis.
David Wong, formerly VP of Living Realty, will serve as team leader, while Kelvin Wong will transition from broker of record to operating principal.
"We found the synergy with Keller Williams, including their focus on agent development and wealth building, to be very compelling," Ben Wong, EVP and Chief Legal Officer of Living Group, said of the decision to move to KW. "We felt it only made sense to join forces to expand our presence and increase market share."
LPT picks up 11 former Livian teams
Quickly growing LPT Realty also made big strides — and there's a Keller Williams connection.
Between March and December 2024, LPT saw a huge surge in growth, with agent count increasing from 10,000 to roughly 15,000, CEO Robert Palmer told Real Estate News. And now it's making another jump with the addition of 11 former teams from Livian, a KW-supported platform that was acquired by Place in September.
According to LPT, the 11 teams collectively exceeded $500 million in sales in 2023. LPT's focus on "agent choice, flexible compensation plans, and robust support for marketing and training" were cited by the former Livian teams as key reasons for making the move.
The teams serve varied markets in states including Texas, Colorado, Georgia and Florida, further accelerating LPT's mission to compete nationally with larger, more established brokerage brands, the company said. Since its founding in 2021, LPT has expanded from nine markets to nearly nationwide operations, including a presence in Canada.
"For me, LPT represents an opportunity to build something cutting-edge with like-minded professionals," Shannon Doser of the Shannon Doser Group in Missouri said in the announcement. Ryan Lewis of TLG ATL in Georgia said LPT's model, which includes revenue sharing, stock options and no monthly fees, drew him to the brokerage after "years of settling with a legacy franchise."
Palmer, who leapt up in the SP 200 rankings of powerful industry leaders this year, highlighted the significance of the new additions — particularly as he prepares the company to go public in the near future.
"LPT Realty is committed to building a real estate model that works for agents and clients alike," he said in the announcement. "These new teams bring incredible talent and energy to our brokerage, and we're excited to work together to shape the future of real estate."