Keller Williams sharpens focus on agent teams for 2026

For many of the real estate industry’s newest entrants, team recruitment and retention was a primary focus in 2025. And while Keller Williams recognizes that other companies are jumping on the mega and expansion team bandwagon, the firm is confident that it has what it takes to compete in this arena in 2026 and beyond. 

“Looking at lists of top teams in 2025, we had more than the next two or three companies combined, and we couldn’t be more excited about that,” said Jason Abrams, KW’s head of industry and learning.

This past year, Abrams said KW focused closely on connecting its teams and providing them with the opportunity to learn from each other as they look to grow and develop their businesses. 

“The difference between Keller Williams and almost everyone else is that we are a people development company, which means that we lead with education and connection, and we cultivate the best models and best practices in the industry, and that is why we start movements like this,” Abrams said. 

Information is power

Abrams noted that KW’s “The Millionaire Real Estate Agent” podcast, which highlights top team leaders and their business models, is one of the real estate industry’s most popular podcasts. He thinks it’s clear that agents want this knowledge, and even if they’re not brokered by KW, they turn to the firm for guidance. 

In 2026, Abrams said KW will be rolling out programs to support teams that want to continue to grow and recruit new agents. But he acknowledged that there are many teams in the industry today who are focused on maximizing their success with a smaller agent headcount. 

“We are putting together some new mastermind groups for those teams, and we are going to be focused on highlighting those groups on the podcast in a way we have never done before next year,” Abrams said.

He added that in 2026, the company will remain focused on helping agents and teams succeed through a variety of channels, including education and coaching.

“We are redoubling our focus on having incredible results fast,” Abrams said. “Last year, we came to the market with an updated course called BOLD, and in 2026, we are going to be updating our new agent training to help them come into the industry and have immediate success.” 

The firm also recently announced the addition of well-known real estate coach Patrick Ferry to its MAPS Coaching program. Abrams said that Ferry will embark on a roadshow of sorts in 2026, traveling around the country to help agents build the workflows they need to start automating parts of their businesses. 

‘Eagle eyes’ on the industry

Touching on bigger picture topics, Abrams said he’s excited to see what the new executive leadership at KW — including Chris Czarnecki, who was appointed as CEO in early March after the firm announced a large capital infusion from Stone Point Capital — has in store in the coming year.

“These are some incredibly talented people that have joined our think tank to help move agents forward,” Abrams said of the new executives who joined KW’s ranks in 2025. 

Looking at the industry as a whole in 2025, Abrams acknowledged that there was quite a bit of noise but feels that KW was able to look beyond the debates and lawsuits because the company “ardently believes that real estate is a local business driven by local relationships.”

“In an era when you have single humans at some of these giant companies making sweeping decisions for what’s best for real estate agents, brokers and consumers in towns that not only have they never visited and they don’t understand, we’re hyperfocused on making sure that consumers, real estate agents and local broker-owners have a full say and transparency in the decisions that are being made,” Abrams said.

“All too often today you read news about one or two humans that make statements that they believe to be universal, and it shows a complete misunderstanding of how the industry is actually set up and how it best serves consumers.” 

Instead of taking a top-down approach on issues like private listings, referral fee practices, and relationships with local Realtor associations and MLSs, Abrams said KW asks what local agents and brokers think is best for their clients. This allows them to take the lead on many of these issues. 

With that said, however, there are some industrywide topics that Abrams and the KW team are focused on for 2026.

“We always look at the big trends in the macroeconomy that affect housing the most — and that is going to be employment, GDP, inflation and the cost to borrow money,” he said.

“We are watching those things with eagle eyes right now, because in the current political environment, it’s hard to get a beat on where things are going. So you have to understand where they’ve been, where they are and then be able to pivot quickly depending on where they end up.”