SMBs.com
Industry research

The state of real estate in 2026

A vertical where the broker-owner buys for recruiting + retention, not for productivity - flip the pitch accordingly.

By the numbers · live data from our directory

Companies indexed
19,562
Countries
84+
Decision-makers
272,228
With contacts
19,400
Employee size distribution
1-4
1,507
5-9
997
10-19
933
20-49
950
50-99
19
250-499
1
500-999
1
1000+
3
Top countries
  • US16,342
  • CA620
  • AU490
  • GB477
  • IN318
  • AE200

Brokerages run on agent productivity

There are 110k+ US brokerages - RE/MAX, Keller Williams, Compass, eXp, Side, plus 80% independent. Broker-owners care about three things: (1) recruiting and retaining producing agents, (2) compliance + transaction management, (3) per-agent margin. Pitch software in those terms or get ignored.

CRE is a separate story

On the commercial side, office vacancy hit 21% in Q1 2026 - the highest in tracked history. Class B+C office in second-tier downtowns is above 30%. Brokerages handling commercial leasing are restructuring around this; the residential side keeps eating the commercial side's lunch.

MLS + transaction integration is mandatory

Dotloop, Skyslope, BackAgent, Lone Wolf - name them by name in your pitch. Generic "MLS integration" doesn't convince a designated broker who is responsible for compliance.

Sourced statistics for this vertical

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Buyer persona
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