Who Is Your Agent Really Working For?

Posted by Tim Bray on July 2nd, 2026

Changing Markets — Issue 13

Who Is Your Agent Really Working For?

The Quiet Cost of Pay-to-Play Real Estate

A Seaport Advisory perspective on lead-generation portals, misaligned incentives, and what it should actually mean to hire a real estate professional.

There is a business model quietly reshaping how most Americans meet their real estate agent, and almost no consumer understands how it works.

It deserves scrutiny, because the person you trust with the largest financial decision of your life may have been sold to you — literally — before you ever spoke.

The person you trust with one of the largest financial decisions of your life may have been sold to you before you ever spoke.

I want to be direct about my…

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Changing Markets – Issue #9 The Brokerage Divide Has Begun Big Ships Turn Slowly.

Posted by Tim Bray on May 8th, 2026

Changing Markets · Issue #9

The Brokerage Divide Has Begun

Big Ships Turn Slowly.

Many agents are making long-term career decisions at the exact moment the real estate industry is becoming faster, leaner, more technology-driven, and less forgiving.

82% of real estate agents currently use AI according to RPR’s 2026 survey. 32% of REALTORS® had not yet actively adopted AI tools in NAR’s 2025 survey. 58% of REALTORS® using AI reported using ChatGPT as their primary tool. $4.4T in potential annual economic impact may be created by generative AI according to McKinsey. The Career Decision Nobody Is Talking About

Agents are not just switching brokerages. They may be choosing how flexible their future…

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How Real Estate Agents Can Do More for Their Clients

Posted by Robert Ruth on January 4th, 2023

Do More.

Do Better.

No Excuses.

I saw this somewhere today, while working, either online or on tv. I don’t recall where I saw it, only that I did not forget it. These 6 words seem to express the desire of every individual at the start of a New Year. They point to our dissatisfaction with the status quo and our desire to achieve no matter what the cost. The unrelenting desire to have, do, and be more is what is at work here. But in reality, having it all and doing it all doesn’t mean you will be it all. Not by a long shot.

“With all thy getting, get understanding.”

In the business world, the goal is constant growth and improvement. 

• Grow the business. 

• Reduce expenses. 

• Increase revenue. 

• Beat last…

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