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In this week’s episode of the RealTrending podcast, host Tracey Velt is joined by Michael Valdes, CEO of LPT Realty. They discuss LPT’s recent expansion milestones, its Agent Choice model and the influence of artificial intelligence (AI) on real estate workflows.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity purposes. To start, Valdes shares background on LPT and his involvement with the company. He joined LPT in July after serving as eXp Realty’s chief growth officer.
Valdes: When I joined eXp, they were at about 20,000 agents. I helped grow that to 90,000, from three to 24 countries, in a very short period of time — less than three years. It was meeting (LPT International CEO) Robert (Palmer), understanding what the LPT platform was, and really knowing 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’s a hybrid model that lives side by side. An agent can come in and be at 100% commission, pay a $500 transaction fee for 10 transactions, and then they’re fully capped. Then you have the 80/20 model, where someone has a $15,000 cap. Under the 80/20 model, you are allowed to attract and build an organization. We don’t charge an agent anything until they close their first sale. And that, I think, is a huge distinction. 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 company with all of the rest of the day-to-day operations?
Valdes: I think the greatest answer to that is letting people understand what the greater picture is. We are in the game to build the largest real estate company in our industry. We’re doing that not just by the numbers of volume and transactions. We also want to be the greatest training facility of our industry. How do we get there and why do we want to build it? Those are the intrinsic values that someone has to really understand to know the bigger picture.
Velt: Let’s shift to real estate industry trends. Where are you seeing the biggest opportunities?
Valdes: Everyone is trying to figure out our industry. There’s also a lot of consolidation happening. There is a trend that will probably continue with that. You will also see a lot of independence that will try to find a home with some of these other brands.
To end the conversation, Velt and Valdes explore the future role of the agent in the evolving real estate industry.
Valdes: Right now, in our industry, an agent needs to really show their value. More importantly, they need to understand what their value is and articulate that. You are the CEO of your own company, and unless you know what your mission statement is, you’re not going to survive. You also need to embrace technology. Technology is here to stay. It’s efficient in what we are doing and tasks that we do.
