Robert L. Reffkin
Analyst · Wells Fargo.
Yes. So, look, we continue to get better and better in all the things that we do. And so, by no means is it just the advocacy. But I think what has changed the most this last quarter versus the prior year, yes, technology. I mean, you can see the adoption of our tech is up 37%, right? So, we are seeing those improvements. But when you're recruiting someone, they don't -- like the difference when you're recruiting someone, they wouldn't know that. Now they could talk to their agents, their friends here and tell them so you get good referrals for sure. Look, I think there are views on different sides of what is right, and people have very like personal views about it. The agents, I think on balance, top agents for sure, want choice. There's one of our top agents, Gretchen Cole in Raleigh. She said, you know what, I'm starting to look at all these comments -- in the comments section of these people who are saying you shouldn't be able to market off MLS. I'm realizing they don't sell real estate. And what you meant by that, these are agents that don't have a business or these are people -- or these organized real estate, members of like the association and the organized system of these portals and MLSs. And -- but top agents, these top agents love their clients more than they give more to their clients than their own families in certain senses. When there's a phone, they give you a dinner with your family. And if you're a top agent and someone calls, many of them will be like -- they pick up for that client. Their entire business is because they give so much to their clients, they care so much for their clients. And the very concept that MLS in a portal would find them and ban them, find them up to $5,000, ban them for giving choice to their sellers, the same choice that the developers have. And these top agents are sophisticated. They understand what's happening. And so they feel sold out by organized real estate. And again, some of them, they don't all feel that way. Some of them believe what they've been told, maximum exposure equals maximum price. That's a really great line. maximum exposure equals maximum price. Although if that were true, everything would be on Amazon. And it's not. If that were true, LVMH wouldn't be able to sell a bank that cost $200 for $20,000, right? It's -- max price is not true. It's a true thing. But -- so top agents understand that, and that's why they just want someone to fight for them and to advocate for them, and that's what we're doing. And you can see it also in retention numbers. Our retention numbers were 97.5%, meaningfully higher than it was a year ago, and we see it in the data.