RE/MAX US and Canada agents fall 3% to 72,118 as Real brand grows 21%

One group, two brands, headcounts moving in opposite directions. Real REMAX Group reported its third-quarter results for the period ended 30 September on 5 November 2026: RE/MAX had 72,118 agents in the United States and Canada combined, down 3% year on year, while the group's own Real brand had 36,610 agents, up 21%.

Real's acquisition of RE/MAX Holdings completed on 24 August 2026, and RE/MAX results are included from 25 August. President Jenna Rozenblat said on the earnings call that the 3% fall in US and Canadian agent numbers is a year-on-year comparison on a pro forma basis.

Contraction in North America, growth overseas

Breaking down the North American figure, RE/MAX had 46,611 agents in the US and 25,507 in Canada at the end of the third quarter.

Markets outside the US and Canada moved differently: RE/MAX had 75,970 agents there, up 4% year on year. Taken together, RE/MAX had 148,088 agents worldwide, a rise of only 0.4%.

Looking back six months, RE/MAX Holdings' first-quarter 2026 results, filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, showed 73,292 agents in the US and Canada at 31 March, made up of 47,443 in the US and 25,849 in Canada, with 149,192 worldwide. On that basis, the US and Canada lost a net 1,174 agents in six months: 832 in the US and 342 in Canada.

Real purges its roster after quarter-end

Real's growth has another side. According to the press release as reprinted by Franchising.com, the Real brand had 30,183 agents a year earlier. By 3 November 2026, however, Real's platform had about 36,200 agents, roughly 410 fewer than at the end of September.

The press release said more than 500 Real agents were proactively removed by the company in October because of unpaid dues or expired real estate licences. It also said Real's agent attrition increased after the end of the quarter.

Chief executive Tamir Poleg said on the call that the company had proactively removed more than 1,000 agents over the past two months, many of whom had let their licences lapse. In the question-and-answer session he described them as people who had left the industry or had not paid their multiple listing service (MLS) dues, and said a further list of about 300 to 400 people was under review. According to RISMedia, Poleg attributed the recent attrition to a housing market at lows for nearly four years, with rising mortgage rates delaying a recovery, and said agent departures had risen since September.

Note that the removal of more than 500 agents, and the cumulative figure of more than 1,000, relate to Real's own brokerage business, not the RE/MAX franchise network. The company also did not disclose how many of those removed had unpaid dues and how many had expired licences.

Fourth quarter: call expects North American headcount to fall year on year

The press release's fourth-quarter guidance covers financial figures only: revenue of US$575 million to US$625 million and adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of US$32 million to US$38 million. It sets out no expectation for RE/MAX agent numbers in the US and Canada.

The headcount expectation came from the call. Chief financial officer Ravi Jani expected RE/MAX's North American agent count to fall year on year in the fourth quarter; the Motley Fool transcript records this as a low-to-mid single-digit decline. Rozenblat said the company does not expect an immediate reversal in agent attrition in the franchise business.

Analysis: what it means for recruiting teams

The following is analysis by the Focus-50 editorial team.

• A roster count is not the same as the number of working agents. Real removing more than 500 people in October over unpaid dues or expired licences shows that headline figures can be rewritten quickly.
• Licence validity and dues status are worth watching in retention management. Checking members' licence expiry dates regularly is more proactive than discovering a shrinking headcount at quarter-end.
• Growth and attrition can happen at the same time. Within one group, one brand rose 21% year on year while another fell 3% in the US and Canada; when comparing figures, check whether they are quarter-end or early-month, and whether they are on a pro forma basis.

One takeaway for recruiting teams: signing someone is only the start, and a name on the roster does not necessarily mean an agent who is still working.

Compiled by the F50 Editorial Team from public sources, for general reference only and not professional advice. Details are correct as of the publication date and may change.