Real’s Monthly Agent Survey: Private Listings Gain Industry Attention, But Remain Rare in Practice
Survey data points to limited client demand for off-market listings, even as industry debate intensifies
The data highlights a gap between industry narrative and on-the-ground behavior, with most agents reporting minimal client demand for private listings and reserving them for limited, specific use cases rather than broad adoption.
The survey also reflects a cooling in agent sentiment following February’s peak, even as transaction activity shows signs of stabilization.
“There’s clearly more conversation happening across the industry around private listings, but the data shows adoption is still quite limited,” said Jason Cassity, Chief Growth Officer of Real. “Agents are ultimately focused on what drives the best outcome for their clients, and today that often means maximizing exposure — while still keeping flexibility for more tailored strategies when needed.”
Key Survey Findings: Market Trends and Insights
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Agent Optimism Moderates but Remains Positive: Real’s Agent Optimism Index, which measures agents’ 12-month forward outlook, registered at 62.0 in March, down from 70.3 in February. Despite the month-over-month decline, the index remains well above 50, indicating a net positive outlook. Fifty-three percent (
53% ) of agents reported feeling more optimistic than the prior month, though only12% described themselves as significantly more optimistic. -
Transaction Activity Shows Modest Improvement: Real’s Transaction Growth Index, which tracks home sales activity reported by agents within their local markets, increased to 50.3 in March from 48.1 in February. While
34% of agents reported fewer transactions compared to March 2025, another34% reported a year-over-year increase, and32% reported stable activity.
Note: This index reflects agents' perceptions of local market trends and is not indicative of Real's company-specific transaction volume. Index scores are weighted on a 0-100 point scale, with scores above 50 indicating year-over-year growth and below 50 signaling a decline. -
Buyer Advantage Persists but Continues to Narrow: Forty percent (
40% ) of agents said their local market favors buyers, down from45% in February. Meanwhile,25% reported sellers hold the advantage, and35% described their market as balanced. -
Affordability Remains the Primary Constraint: Affordability continues to be the most significant challenge for buyers, cited by
45% of agents, up from41% last month. Economic uncertainty remained largely unchanged at27% , while inventory concerns declined to16% , suggesting some easing in supply conditions.
Key Survey Findings: Agent Perspectives on Private and ‘Coming Soon’ Listings
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Private Listings See Limited Adoption Despite Increased Industry Attention: Despite growing discussions around private and off-market listings, agent-reported usage remains low. Sixty-nine percent (
69% ) of agents said none of their clients ask to market their home privately, while an additional23% reported that10% or fewer clients express interest in off-market strategies. -
Agents Rarely Recommend Private Listings: Fifty-four percent (
54% ) of agents said they would not recommend a private listing strategy for any of their listings. Among those who would consider it,24% cited high-end or luxury properties as the most appropriate use case, while21% said it may be suitable depending on specific seller needs. -
‘Coming Soon’ Portal Integration Viewed as Incremental Rather than Essential for Most Agents: Agents reported mixed views on the importance of their brokerage offering a “Coming Soon” period integrated with major home search portals. Approximately
37% of agents either would not use these features or consider them not important (21% do not use them and16% say they are not important). Another43% said such features are somewhat important but not a deciding factor, while a smaller group —20% combined — view them as very or critically important.
A full summary of these results can be found on Real’s investor relations website at https://investors.onereal.com/.
About the Survey
The Real Brokerage March 2026 Agent Survey included responses from 437 real estate agents across
About Real
Real (NASDAQ: REAX) is a real estate experience company working to make life’s most complex transaction simple. The fast-growing company combines essential real estate, mortgage and closing services with powerful technology to deliver a single seamless end-to-end consumer experience, guided by trusted agents. With a presence in all 50 states throughout the
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Investor inquiries, please contact:
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investors@therealbrokerage.com
908.280.2515
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Source: The Real Brokerage Inc.