By Courtney Zwicker
With the United States housing market continuing to operate near historic trough levels, Real Remax Group CEO Tamir Poleg is bracing the newly combined real estate giant for another challenging year. As the company works through the complex integration of two massive industry players following a transformative $880-million acquisition, leadership is simultaneously contending with broader agent attrition, aggressive cost-cutting measures, and the rollout of new technology across its expanding network.
The structural hurdles facing the company follow The Real Brokerage Inc.’s high-profile acquisition of Re/Max Holdings Inc., which officially closed on August 24. While the merger was designed to create an industry powerhouse, the macro environment has thrown up immediate roadblocks. Elevated mortgage rates, stubborn home prices, and a frozen resale market have heavily dampened transaction volumes across North America.
Addressing shareholders and analysts during the company’s third-quarter earnings call, Poleg did not mince words regarding the macroeconomic climate. The recent, unexpected spike in mortgage rates has further delayed the housing market recovery that many industry observers, including Poleg himself, had anticipated earlier in the year.
Management’s forward-looking guidance for 2027 paints a stark picture for the broader industry. The company’s financial outlook assumes that U.S. existing-home sales will decline by an additional five to 10 percent, while home prices are projected to edge downward by three to four percent. According to Chief Financial Officer Ravi Jani, these converging trends are expected to produce what will likely be the weakest real estate market seen in three decades.
This pessimistic forecast places immense pressure on an already delicate corporate integration. The merger has already been marked by significant internal restructuring, corporate layoffs, and a broader wave of departures as underperforming agents leave the industry altogether. Even so, executive leadership remains steadfast in its belief that aggressive technological integration and strict overhead reduction will ultimately position the combined enterprise for long-term strength.
Revenue Rises as Company Absorbs Heavy Acquisition Expenses
Despite the challenging backdrop, Real Remax Group’s headline financial figures demonstrated substantial top-line growth, primarily driven by the incorporation of the newly acquired Re/Max operations. For the third quarter, the company reported total revenue of $727.9 million, representing a robust 28 percent increase compared to $568.5 million during the same period a year earlier.
A closer examination of the financial statements reveals the transitional nature of the quarter. The reported revenue figures include just five weeks of operational contributions from Re/Max, whereas the year-earlier comparative figures reflect the performance of The Real Brokerage alone.
However, the rapid expansion and subsequent restructuring came at a substantial near-term cost. The company posted a net loss of $67.2 million, or $2.25 per diluted share, a sharp departure from the net loss of $300,000, or two cents per share, recorded a year prior. Furthermore, the company’s operating loss widened dramatically, jumping from $500,000 to $72 million year over year.
Management noted that these widening losses were largely driven by non-recurring integration burdens. Specifically, the third-quarter results were impacted by $52.3 million in direct acquisition-related expenses, alongside $26.4 million in accelerated stock-based compensation tied directly to employee terminations and structural downsizing executed in the wake of the deal.
At the same time, core operational profitability showed encouraging signs of scale and efficiency. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) rose by 66 percent to reach $33.8 million. Concurrently, the company’s adjusted EBITDA margin improved to 4.6 percent, up from 3.6 percent in the previous year, signaling that the underlying business model retains strong operational leverage despite the immediate integration friction.
Agent Departures Accelerate Amid Prolonged Housing Slowness
Beyond corporate balance sheets, the prolonged housing market slowdown is reverberating deeply through agent ranks, particularly within the United States. Prolonged low transaction volumes and shrinking commission pools have forced marginal agents to reevaluate their career paths, leading to a notable contraction in active licensing.
According to Poleg, the market shift became pronounced at the end of the summer. Beginning in September, the company observed a distinct uptick in the number of agents choosing to leave the real estate industry altogether. Real Remax Group was not insulated from this broader industry trend. Over the preceding two months, the company proactively offboarded more than 1,000 agents—many of whom simply allowed their real estate licenses to expire or formally exited the profession.
To understand the scope of the network changes, metrics from both sides of the merged enterprise highlight a shifting landscape. The Real Brokerage reported a total agent count of 36,610 as of September 30, which still represented a 21 percent increase compared to the same time in the previous year. However, that figure receded slightly to approximately 36,200 by November 3 as pruning measures took effect.
Poleg emphasized that these departures were heavily concentrated among low-producing individuals who contributed very little aggregate revenue to the corporate ecosystem. He noted that management was actively reviewing another 300 to 400 agents for potential offboarding, while asserting that the organization is successfully retaining its core base of highly productive professionals. Furthermore, he maintained that the recruitment of fresh talent remains on par with, or even outperforms, performance from the prior year.
While agents are churning, the underlying productivity is staying within the firm, Poleg argued, reinforcing confidence that management is executing the right strategic steps to protect transaction volume.
Meanwhile, the legacy Re/Max franchise network presented a more varied geographic picture. In the United States, the Re/Max agent count contracted by five percent year over year to settle at 46,611. Conversely, the Canadian network demonstrated resilience, growing its agent base by two percent to reach 25,507. On a global scale, Re/Max finished the quarter with 148,088 agents across its international network, representing a modest 0.4 percent increase compared to the previous year.
Job Cuts and Mortgage Franchise Closures Form Core of Cost Strategy
To navigate the prolonged market trough and absorb the financial weight of the merger, executive leadership moved quickly to slash overhead. Within just two months of closing the acquisition, the company successfully implemented more than $40 million in annualized cost savings. These savings were achieved largely through workforce reductions exceeding 14 percent, which translated to the elimination of more than 150 corporate positions.
Jenna Rozenblat, president and chief integration officer of the combined group, explained that the organization has systematically simplified its management structures, consolidated overlapping operational functions, and initiated the removal of duplicate technology and vendor expenses.
As part of this rigorous rationalization process, the company is also winding down severely underperforming legacy operations. A prime example is Motto Mortgage, a U.S.-based mortgage brokerage franchise brand that was part of the Re/Max holdings portfolio.
The wind-down of Motto Mortgage has been swift and extensive. Out of 151 Motto offices operating at the end of August, 104—representing roughly 69 percent of the network—had formally closed within two months. Management confirmed that more than 90 percent of the total Motto network is slated for permanent closure.
Rozenblat acknowledged the difficulty of these operational retreats, noting that legacy Re/Max mortgage businesses generated a combined adjusted EBITDA loss of $5 million in 2025 alone. Consequently, these decisive actions were deemed entirely necessary to construct a more focused, streamlined, and ultimately profitable enterprise moving forward.
Technology Takes Centre Stage in Remax Rebranding and Integration
With structural cost-cutting underway, executive leadership is placing heavy emphasis on technological modernization as the primary vehicle for revitalizing the legacy Re/Max franchise network. Poleg highlighted that Alex Vidal, who was named president of Re/Max following the acquisition in September, has been actively traveling across the country to meet directly with brokerage owners. The focal point of nearly all these discussions has been the integration of advanced, scalable technology.
Poleg candidly referenced past agent and owner dissatisfaction with historical Re/Max technology offerings, arguing that The Real Brokerage’s robust, proprietary platform can provide franchisees with the modern tools required to operate far more efficiently while drastically reducing administrative overhead.
As part of this technological push, the company officially launched Leo Pro on October 20. The advanced artificial intelligence platform is designed to automate critical everyday tasks, including marketing campaigns, lead generation, customer relationship management, and complex transaction workflows.
According to Poleg, approximately 3,000 agents have already adopted the service on
a paid subscription and usage-based pricing model. Management confirmed that this powerful AI infrastructure will be rolled out and made fully available to the broader Re/Max agent network in the near future, serving as a critical cornerstone for retention and productivity as the housing market navigates its ongoing cyclical trough.