Confidence among real estate brokerage leaders is at a record high. More than 100 brokerage executives polled during Delta Media Group’s third-annual real estate leadership survey expressed optimism about their economic, housing and business outlooks for 2025. This confidence in profitability, transaction volume and market share signals a strong rebound from previous economic uncertainty, the survey said.
"This year’s survey confirms what we’ve been hearing from top brokerage leaders – they believe their business and the economy will improve this year," said Michael Minard, CEO and owner of Delta Media. "After several years of uncertainty, brokerages are navigating market changes with renewed optimism and strategic focus. They see opportunities in technology, talent acquisition, and overall market share growth.”
Nearly two-thirds of brokerage leaders expect higher profitability this year, up from 48% in 2024 and 18% in 2023. More than two-thirds of industry executives believe their market share will increase over the next year, compared with 58% in 2024 and 56% in 2023. And, more than 70% of brokerage leaders anticipate an increase in total transaction volume, compared with 60% in 2024 and 20% in 2023.
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The increasing optimism is likely building thanks to a boost in economic confidence, said the report. For example, two-thirds of those surveyed said they are confident in the U.S. economy, up sharply from 10.6% who felt this way in 2023. While not as high, confidence in state economies has been steadily improving, with 37% of execs bullish this year, up from 12% in 2023.
Global economic confidence is also improving but remains weak, said Delta. Sixteen percent of brokerage executives expressed optimism about global market conditions, up from 3% in 2023.
Despite rising optimism, brokerage executives pointed to several major challenges that could impact operations, growth and profitability. They include difficulty recruiting agents, reduced profit margins, agent adoption of brokerage-provided technology, managing the impact of artificial intelligence and cost-cutting.
The survey revealed that larger firms are consistently more optimistic about market conditions and transaction growth. Mid-market firms are more cheerful toward transaction growth than general economic conditions, while major-market brokerages report over 90% optimism about growth, according to the report.
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Kristen Smithberg
Kristen Smithberg is a Colorado-based freelance writer who covers commercial real estate, insurance, benefits and retirement topics for BenefitsPRO and other industry publications.
