January shows slower than the expected rebound in agent movement
Important observations from January:
• Modest monthly increase, but under typical January: The non-corrected monthly AMI score rose to 90.3, which reflects a normal lift after the holiday in agent movement. However, that bounce is overwhelming according to historical standards.
• Seasonal Metric Reds: The seasonal figure went down to 89.2 and set up the softer trend that was noticed in the release of December and emphasizes that the real underlying movement remains slower than normal for this time of year.
• The progressive average of 12 months is further illuminated: The backlog of 12 months fell to 98.6, which means that the downward drift that we emphasized last month.
• Active Agent Count Slips again: The pole of agents who close at least one transaction in the past year decreased 790,111, Marking another month of decline – although still well above the more limited numbers of 2018.
“January often brings a bump in recruiting Momentum because agents re -evaluate their broker relationships,” said the founder of Relitix, Rob Keefe. “This year, that increase seems to be filled in. Our seasonal measurements continue to slide, which suggests that many agents stay in place and that brokers remain careful with their recruitment. Although it is not as low as the environment we saw in 2018, we expect recruiters and brokerage leaders to continue to refine their retention strategies until the market indicates a stronger change. ”
These findings in January build on the themes of our release of December 2024, which underlines a persistent downward trend in agent mobility and prescerated a tempered start of 2025. Although a modest increase in rough numbers is normal in January – and materialized – the relative weakness of this indicates the rise of the year that the caution we have observed for several months remains.
What this means for brokers and recruiters:
• Planning for a soft first quarter: Even with a small seasonal bounce, the general agent movement remains modest. Leaders may want to plan for slower than typical recruitment at the start of the year.
• Recruitment -strategies when reducing: While fewer agents change brokerages, an improved value proposition – such as stronger technology tools, marketing support or robust development of agent – could tip the scales when attracting top performance.
• Monitoring of active agent levels: Although active agent continues to fall, they have not (yet) returned to the lower levels of 2018. Keep an eye on whether the agent pool stabilizes or further contracts, is crucial for setting realistic recruitment goals.
Rob Keefe is the president of Relitix.
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