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The Future of Real Estate Belongs to the Agent, Not the Brokerage Brand

Adam Bent
August 19, 2026 5 Mins Read
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For decades, real estate brokerage has largely been organized around the strength of the brand. The brokerage supplied the name, office, systems, and institutional credibility, while agents built their businesses within that framework. That model is being tested by a market in which agents increasingly operate as entrepreneurs and consumers expect greater transparency, responsiveness, and digital convenience.

The continued importance of agents makes the transformation especially consequential. The National Association of REALTORS® reports that 88% of home buyers used an agent or broker in 2025, while 91% of sellers did. Buyers relied on agents for finding properties, negotiating terms, and understanding the transaction, while sellers sought expertise in marketing, pricing, and timing.

At the same time, technology has created an unexpected problem. More tools have often meant more fragmentation. Zillow Pro’s 2025 research found that 93% of agents use multiple technology tools, with 39% using five or more and 10% using at least 10. A 2026 survey conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of TransUnion found that 48% of real estate professionals rely on four or more tools to confirm contact information and assess safety risks.

The economics of the profession are changing alongside the technology. Since August 17, 2024, NAR’s policy changes have required MLS Participants working with buyers to enter into written agreements before touring a home, with the agreement specifying the amount or rate of compensation or how it will be determined. Offers of compensation can no longer be communicated through the MLS, while compensation remains negotiable. The changes have made conversations about agent value and compensation considerably more visible to consumers.

For Nathan Klutznick, CEO of LoKation Real Estate, these developments point toward a fundamental restructuring of the brokerage relationship. He argues that the brokerage of the future should function as the foundation from which agents build their own businesses, providing the technology, infrastructure, and autonomy required to compete in a rapidly changing marketplace.

Klutznick’s perspective comes from two decades in the industry and from watching commission pressure persist through different market cycles. He believes the NAR changes have intensified public awareness of how agents are compensated, increasing the importance of giving agents greater economic flexibility.

“Commission pressure has always been part of real estate, and it has moved with the market,” Klutznick says. “What has changed is the level of public attention surrounding compensation. Agents now need the freedom to protect the value of their services while having enough economic room to invest in the businesses they are building.”

 Klutznick emphasizes that LoKation’s model is built around that philosophy. The company does not position itself as a discount brokerage. Instead, he argues that allowing agents to retain a larger share of their commissions gives them greater discretion over technology, marketing, education, and other business investments.

That question has become particularly relevant as agents weigh compensation against brokerage support. For Klutznick, agents should not have to view economics and infrastructure as opposing choices.

“The objective is to give agents both economic flexibility and a serious business infrastructure,” he says. “An agent should have the ability to retain more of what they earn while also having access to the systems, resources, and technology that can make those earnings more achievable.”

LOKATION 50

The technology challenge extends beyond acquiring more software. NAR’s 2025 Technology Survey found that 66% of REALTORS® primarily embrace new technology to save time and 64% cite improving the client experience as a motivation.

Klutznick believes the next competitive advantage will come from digital consolidation. LoKation’s Sphere is designed as an integrated environment where agents can access contracts, education, marketing resources, and other business functions rather than repeatedly moving between disconnected systems.

The case for consolidation is supported by the broader industry. A Forrester Consulting study commissioned by TransUnion found that 82% of agents found the idea of a consolidated platform appealing, while 91% said they would use such a tool at least occasionally in their daily work.

“The agent should not have to spend the day managing technology,” Klutznick says. “They should be able to enter one environment and conduct their business from there. Every minute recovered from administrative friction is another minute available for prospecting, advising, negotiating and serving a client.”

Klutznick sees artificial intelligence as the next layer of this infrastructure. He argues that AI will handle increasing amounts of administrative friction while strengthening the agent’s ability to deliver personal service.

He points to contract compliance as an example. LoKation is developing AI-enabled processes intended to reduce internal contract review from a potential 48 to 72 hours to merely seconds. Klutznick says the company’s planned workflow could allow an agent to create, review, and submit an offer within minutes.

The significance, in his view, is measured in client experience. In a competitive property search, an offer delayed by hours can feel materially different from one submitted almost immediately.

“Speed is becoming part of the service,” Klutznick says. “If a buyer walks out of a property and knows they want to make an offer, the agent should have the technology to act immediately. AI can compress administrative processes so the agent can spend more time doing the work only a human professional can do.”

Klutznick believes AI can manage repetitive processes, while agents concentrate more deeply on judgment, negotiation, trust and emotional guidance.

The implications extend beyond any single brokerage. Klutznick expects the successful brokerage of the coming years to resemble an intelligent business platform connecting agents with the tools and participants required to complete a transaction efficiently.

Lenders, title companies, inspectors, compliance teams, marketing systems and consumers could increasingly operate through interconnected digital workflows. In that environment, the brokerage’s competitive advantage will depend on how effectively it removes friction without diminishing the personal relationship at the center of the transaction.

“The future of real estate will demand an all-encompassing, AI-enabled platform that connects the entire transaction,” Klutznick says. “You can be an exceptional salesperson, but if your client experiences a slow, fragmented transaction while another client experiences a seamless one, the difference will become part of your reputation.”

That is the larger shift Klutznick sees taking shape. The brokerage brand still matters, but its greatest value may increasingly be measured by what it enables its agents to accomplish.

“The human relationship will always be fundamental because real estate is deeply personal,” Klutznick says. “Our responsibility is to build the technology and infrastructure that allows agents to spend less time fighting the process and more time serving the person in front of them. The brokerage of the future will be the one that makes the agent more capable, more competitive, and more valuable to the client.”

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Adam Bent

Adam Bent is a business and technology writer with a focus on innovation, entrepreneurship, and sustainable business practices. His articles examine how emerging ideas, strategic leadership, and evolving industries are driving long-term growth and impact.

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