HomeSmart recently launched HomeSmart+, a revenue sharing program that provides a way for agents to earn additional income beyond their own transactions, and an opportunity to earn money into their retirement.
Ashley Bowers, president of HomeSmart, says she believes the company is the first brand to offer both a flat transaction fee model and a revenue share model.
“Sometimes agents like the idea of a revenue share model, but once they begin being tasked with referring agents to a brand, they want to go back to only performing real estate transactions,” Bowers tells RISMedia. “Today, that means making a brand switch or continuing to pay a split fee. With HomeSmart, they can simply make a fee plan change on the backend. This gives them complete optionality which agents are looking for, and freedom of choice in their fee agreement with their brokerage without them having to change their branding.”
“We surveyed the agents to learn what they invest in and what’s important to them, and understanding a long-term retirement option was significantly important to them,” says Bowers. “With HomeSmart+, they can earn points towards a lifetime of retirement.”
HomeSmart+ will provide agents the choice to continue with one of HomeSmart’s 100%-commission plans or the chance to generate revenue through the HomeSmart+ revenue sharing program.
“Our agents wanted the option for greater financial freedom, while maintaining access to the brick-and-mortar office locations and top-of-the-line customer service and support they’ve become accustomed to with HomeSmart,” said Matt Widdows, HomeSmart’s founder and CEO, in a statement. “HomeSmart+ accomplishes this and much more. We’ve raised the bar for the industry, and I am proud we can offer our agents the financial rewards they work so hard to achieve. I wanted to build this as a thank you to the professional REALTOR®.”
HomeSmart+ agents are rewarded on the revenue, and not just profit, they bring in through referrals, eliminating the concern over spending that’s created with traditional profit-sharing models, according to the company.
Through the program, Agents can receive up to 80% of the commission per transaction, which is capped each anniversary year, plus revenue share from the sales activity of the productive agents they sponsor into the company. HomeSmart will also continue to offer its 100%-commission plans.
When an agent has accumulated enough retirement points based on personal transactions and referrals, they can change their status to “retired” and continue to earn residual income through HomeSmart+ even after they are no longer active in the industry. Agents need to keep an active real estate license and have it be held by a HomeSmart brokerage or a HomeSmart referral company to stay in compliance.
“Dramatic changes are disrupting the real estate industry and creating financial headwinds for many agents,” added Widdows. “HomeSmart+ gives our agents the security that comes with owning their future and setting themselves up for long-term financial success. It’s another example of HomeSmart’s industry leadership in action.”
In terms of building agent loyalty and attracting new agents to HomeSmart, the company says they continue to show they are a brand “with the courage to change with the preferences of our customer base, whether that be our brokers, agents or consumers.”
“We’ve built a tech-enabled business that allows us to make the appropriate pivots as the industry demands different things. While we’re not the first to come up with a revenue share model, we are an established organization and brand now adding this as an option,” adds Bowers. “The earlier in the process that you attach yourself to a revenue share model, the larger the opportunity is to build your revenue share pool. Agents who got in late or have missed out on other opportunities will see that now we’re creating an opportunity for them.”
For more information, please visit www.homesmart.com/plus.
