Who the Hell Is eXp?

You've heard the name. Maybe at an awards night, maybe from an agent down the road who left a big-brand office and seems oddly relaxed about it. Maybe from a recruiter you didn't call back. Some will tell you it's the future. Most people in the industry couldn't tell you what it actually is. So here it is, plainly.

eXp started in 2009 with one idea from its founder, Glenn Sanford: a brokerage doesn't need a shopfront to be a brokerage. It needs agents, a compliance backbone, tech that works, and a model that pays the people doing the work. Everything else is overhead, and overhead gets passed down to you. It took years for the rest of the industry to stop laughing. Most of them still haven't worked out what to do about it.

eXp opened in Australia in December 2019, a few months before the whole country learned it could run a business from the kitchen table. We weren't the ones who had to learn that. Today there are eXp agents in Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia, New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania. There are no desk fees and no franchise restrictions.

Now the scale, because this is where people usually stop smiling politely. eXp operates in 29 countries. As of 30 June this year, there were 87,338 agents and brokers on the platform. In the second quarter of 2026 alone, those agents closed 132,497 transactions worth US$60.5 billion, and the business brought in US$1.4 billion in revenue. None of that comes from a pitch deck. It's publicly reported every quarter on the Nasdaq under AGNT, Inc., the new name for what used to be eXp World Holdings. If the growth stalled, you'd read about it. You haven't.

Here's the part that actually makes eXp different, and it isn't the size. At most brands, the value you create goes up the chain. Your listings build their brand. Your recruits grow their network. Your years of loyalty build equity in a business you'll never own a piece of. At eXp, that flows the other way. Agents can earn revenue share when agents they bring in succeed. Agents can earn company stock for production and milestones. In the first half of 2026, the company recorded US$42.7 million in agent equity compensation. That's shares in a public company, going to the people who sell the houses.

And the "no office" line? It's the most misunderstood part of the whole thing. No office doesn't mean you're alone. It means no one charges you rent for a desk you're barely at. You still get training, compliance support, national and international referral networks, and a community of agents who share what works, because under this model they gain when you do. That's the difference between a network and a franchise. A franchise needs you to keep paying. A network needs you to keep growing.

Here's what that scale means if you're selling in Mudgee, Bundaberg or the Limestone Coast. At most regional offices, your network stops at the town limits: the principal, a couple of colleagues and whoever turns up at the next district meeting. At eXp, it's more than 87,000 agents. When a Sydney family starts planning their tree change, there's a good chance their city agent is one of ours, and that agent needs someone they trust at the other end. When a buyer is relocating from Perth, Auckland or London, the referral doesn't need to go through head office. It comes agent to agent. The training, coaching and tech are the same whether you're in the CBD or three hours from the nearest capital. Nobody holds a territory over your head. And when a campaign isn't working, you're not stuck with the three people in your office. You can ask agents who've already solved that exact problem somewhere else. In the regions, being independent has always meant being isolated. It doesn't have to anymore.

What eXp isn't: it isn't a magic trick. It won't sell houses for you. It won't hand you a database. Agents who wait for leads to land in their lap tend to be disappointed here, same as anywhere. What it does is get out of your way. It strips out the costs that don't earn their keep and gives you a stake in something bigger than your own patch.