LPT’s Michael Valdes on expansion plans and agent choice models
On this week’s episode of the RealTrending podcast, host Tracey Velt is joined by Michael Valdes, CEO of LPT Real Estate. They discuss LPT’s recent expansion milestones, the Agent Choice model, and the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on real estate workflows.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity purposes. To start, Valdes shares background information about LPT and his involvement with the company. He joined LPT in July after serving as eXp Real Estate‘s Chief Growth Officer.
Valdes: When I joined eXp, there were about 20,000 agents. I helped grow that number to 90,000, from three to 24 countries, in a very short period of time – less than three years. It was a meeting with (CEO of LPT International) Robert (Palmer), who understood what the LPT platform was, and really knew that I could give more to agents with this platform.
Tracey Velt: Can you explain the model and what you mean by ‘platform’?
Valdes: LPT has Agent Choice. There are two models. It is a hybrid model that lives side by side. An agent can come in and get a 100% commission, pay a $500 transaction fee for 10 transactions, and then they’re completely capped. Then you have the 80/20 model, where someone has a limit of $15,000. According to the 80/20 model, you can attract and build an organization. We don’t charge an agent until they complete their first sale. And that, I think, is a huge difference. When we talk about an agent-first model and agent choice, that’s exactly what this is.
Velt: How do you prioritize the consistent growth of the business in conjunction with the rest of the day-to-day operations?
Valdes: I think the best answer to that is for people to understand what the bigger picture is. We are building the largest real estate company in our sector. We do this not only on the basis of the numbers of volumes and transactions. We also want to be the largest training facility in our industry. How do we get there and why do we want to build it? These are the intrinsic values that someone really needs to understand in order to know the bigger picture.
Velt: Let’s switch to real estate industry trends. Where do you see the biggest opportunities?
Valdes: Everyone is trying to understand our industry. There is also a lot of consolidation taking place. There is a trend that will probably continue. You’ll also see a lot of independence trying to find a home with some of these other brands.
To end the conversation, Velt and Valdes examine the future role of the real estate agent in the developing real estate sector.
Valdes: At this point, an agent in our industry really needs to demonstrate their value. More importantly, they need to understand what their value is and articulate it. You are the CEO of your own company, and unless you know what your mission is, you will not survive. You also have to embrace technology. Technology is here to stay. It is efficient in what we do and in the tasks we perform.
