On this week’s episode of the RealTrending podcast, host Tracey Velt is joined by Michael Valdes, CEO of LPT property. They discuss the latest developments in LPT’s expansion, its Agent Selection model and the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the real estate workflow.
This discussion has been edited for the purposes of length and clarity. To begin, Valdes shares background on LPT and his involvement with the company. He joined LPT in July after serving as eXp RealtyChief growth officer.
Valdes: When I joined eXp, they were about 20,000 agents. I helped grow that to 90,000, from three to 24 countries, in a very short time – less than three years. It was a meeting with (LPT CEO) Robert (Palmer), who understood what the LPT platform was, and I 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 selection. There are two models. It is a hybrid co-living model. An agent can come in and be 100% commission, pay a $500 buy-in fee for 10 jobs, and be fully accounted for. 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 do not charge the agent anything until they close their first auction. And that, I think, is a big difference. When we talk about the first agent model and agent selection, that’s exactly what this is.
Vel: How do you prioritize the company’s consistent growth and all other day-to-day operations?
Valdes: I think the biggest answer to that is to let people understand what the big picture is. We are in the process of building the largest real estate company in our industry. We don’t just do that with volume numbers and jobs. We also want to be the largest training center in our industry. How do we get there and why do we want to build it? Those are the inner values that one must really understand to know the big picture.
Vel: Let’s switch to trends in the real estate industry. Where do you see the biggest opportunities?
Valdes: Everyone is trying to find our industry. There is also a lot of consolidation going on. There is a trend that will probably continue with that. You will also see many independents that will try to find a home with some of these other brands.
To round out the discussion, 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 show its worth. More importantly, they need to understand what their value is and set that. You are the CEO of your company, and unless you know what your mission statement is, you will not survive. You also need to embrace technology. Technology is here to stay. It works well in what we do and the jobs we do.
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