Market Data
What the Q1 2026 Brokerage Numbers Actually Say
Beyond the headlines: a clearer read on agent migration patterns, model performance, and what it means for the rest of the year.
By Devin Park · Apr 3, 2026 · 6 min read
Recruiting Insight's Q1 2026 Agent Migration and Brokerage Model Performance Report dropped earlier this month, and it's worth reading past the press release. The headline numbers — that Q1 movement was the highest in five years — got the attention. The interesting story is in the model-by-model breakdown.
Cloud and virtual brokerages continue to take the largest share of net inflows, but the rate of acceleration has slowed. The bigger Q1 story is the consolidation winners — regional and national franchises with strong leadership reputations are gaining share back from the model brokerages for the first time in roughly two years.
Independents are the third leg, growing share quietly and consistently across mid-market metros. None of these three groups is growing at the expense of the others in any clean way. They're each pulling from a different segment of the agent population.
The actionable read for broker-owners: stop benchmarking against 'the industry.' The industry is now three different industries with different growth dynamics. Benchmark against the model that looks like yours and compete on the dimension that actually matters in that segment.
