09/10/2026
If you’ve ever wondered what eXp Realty actually is, this post is for you.
eXp Realty was founded by Glenn Sanford in 2009 around a very different idea: instead of building a brokerage around expensive brick-and-mortar offices, build the infrastructure in the cloud and give agents the ability to work, collaborate, learn, and run their businesses from virtually anywhere. eXp expanded to all 50 states by 2018 and today operates throughout the United States and internationally. Its current materials report roughly 80,000+ agents globally, with operations in about 27–29 countries depending on the reporting date. eXp also describes itself as the largest independent real estate brokerage in the world and the largest independent brokerage by transaction/unit count.
What does “eXp” mean? Glenn Sanford chose it because “eXp” works as a prefix for words that represented the culture he wanted to build — exceptional, experts, excellence, expectations, exposure, exponential, and others.
What is eXp Realty? It’s a cloud-based, agent-centric brokerage designed to give agents support, flexibility, growth opportunities, and freedom. Cloud-based simply means that most brokerage functions happen online instead of being centered around traditional physical offices. We still have brokers, compliance, training, support, technology, transaction systems, and all the responsibilities of a traditional brokerage — just delivered through a different infrastructure.
And yes, people ask: “Is eXp an MLM?” Not exactly, although eXp does have a multi-level revenue-share opportunity. Agents at any brokerage typically pay some combination of splits and fees to their brokerage. When someone joins eXp, they identify the agent who most influenced their decision to join. eXp can then share a portion of the company dollar it already earns from qualifying transactions with that sponsor and, under the broader program, other qualifying agents in the organization. There is no separate fee to participate in revenue share, and earnings depend on the production of sponsored agents. eXp’s own 2025 disclosure shows that revenue share is supplemental or nonexistent for many agents rather than being their primary income.
Another difference I appreciate is ownership. eXp agents can earn company stock through certain production and achievement programs, so agents have opportunities to participate in the value of the larger company they are helping build. The company first became publicly traded on the OTCQB market in 2013 and uplisted to Nasdaq in May 2018. The parent company now operates as AGNT, Inc., Nasdaq: AGNT.
Leadership is another reason I’ve remained excited about where eXp is going. Founder Glenn Sanford came from both technology and real estate and created the model after seeing firsthand how much overhead could burden a traditional real-estate business during the 2008 downturn. That background is a big reason technology, scalability, and agent economics are so embedded in the company.
Leo Pareja has also been one of the leaders I’ve really respected. He came to eXp with more than 20 years in real estate, had previously been recognized as a nationally top-producing agent, co-founded a major private lending company, and co-founded Remine, an MLS technology company that ultimately served more than one million real-estate professionals. He’s also a former national president of NAHREP. What I appreciate about his leadership is that he understands this business from several angles — agent, entrepreneur, technology founder, and executive — rather than only from the corporate side. eXp’s 2026 agent-facing materials continue to feature him prominently in CEO-led training and masterminds.
And Wendy Forsythe deserves a mention too. She serves as eXp Realty’s Chief Marketing Officer and is one of the company leaders I particularly enjoy following. Her emphasis on branding, storytelling, marketing, and helping agents build businesses that actually reflect who they are fits very closely with what I believe an agent-centric brokerage should be doing.
For me, though, the biggest reason is still freedom.
I’ve been with eXp for my entire real-estate career, since becoming licensed in 2021. I can run my business my way, work from anywhere, keep my overhead comparatively low, and have the flexibility to be present for my family while still operating a high-production real-estate business with the support and resources of a major brokerage.
I believe we all get to design our life. eXp has simply been the brokerage model that best supports the life and business I chose to build.
If you’re an agent and you’ve heard things about eXp that you’re curious or skeptical about, ask me. I’m a Certified Agent Mentor, and I’m happy to explain how the commission structure, cap, ICON program, stock, revenue share, sponsorship, support, or cloud model actually work. No pressure — just real answers from someone who has been here since day one of her career.
-Jessie Sample, Realtor with eXp Realty
