A Q&A With Charis Moreno, Executive Vice President, Growth, NextHome, Inc.
Brokerage ownership has changed dramatically over the past few years. Large operators are facing mounting pressure from rising technology costs, recruiting challenges, operational complexity and increasing demands from both agents and consumers. At the same time, many legacy franchise systems are struggling to evolve quickly enough to meet the moment.
As the industry continues to shift, NextHome has taken a different approach, launching a new large-office model in early 2026 and then joining the AGNT family of companies to strengthen its long-term position for franchise owners.
We sat down with Charis Moreno to talk about what brokerage leaders are experiencing right now, where the industry is headed next and how NextHome is positioning its members to compete in a rapidly changing landscape.
Real Estate magazine: Brokerage ownership feels very different today than it did even a few years ago. What are you hearing most often from brokerage owners across the country?
Charis Moreno: Everything feels harder right now. Margins are thinner. Technology costs continue to rise. Agents want more support, more tools and more flexibility, and that’s pushing brokerages to rethink how they operate. Teams continue to reshape and challenge the brokerage model. Recruiting remains competitive. Private listing networks loom ahead. At the same time, the bar for consumer experience keeps rising.
The reality is that many brokers built successful businesses, but they’re finding that running those businesses has become more expensive, less profitable and more complicated every year.
What makes this moment especially challenging is that the industry itself has changed. Years ago, brokers and brands largely dictated the terms of the relationship. Today, agents have more options. Teams have more influence. New business models have emerged. The way we’ve always done it no longer fits.
I don’t believe brokers are going away. But I do believe the brokers who fail to evolve will struggle and, in a few cases, go out of business. The operators who are paying attention to where the market is headed, how consumers are behaving and how technology is changing expectations are the ones who will thrive.
That’s exactly why we introduced a new model this year. We recognized that owners needed more choice, more support and a way to stay competitive without sacrificing what they’ve built.
At the end of the day, you can’t control the market. You can’t control interest rates. You can’t control global events. What you can control is how you adapt. The brokers who focus on those controllables are the ones who will continue to win.
Real Estate magazine: NextHome has historically been associated with small- to mid-sized independent brokerages. What led the company to introduce the Large Office Model?
CM: The short answer is that our industry evolved, and we evolved with it.
For years, NextHome has helped smaller to mid-sized independent operators compete by giving them a more affordable, flexible alternative to traditional franchising. That approach resonated with thousands of entrepreneurs.
But over the last couple of years, we started hearing a different conversation from larger operators. These were successful brokerage owners managing significant agent counts and market share, asking a simple question: “Where do I go next?”
Many felt caught in the middle. The reasons they joined certain brands 20 or 30 years ago weren’t necessarily the reasons they wanted to stay today. They were looking for flexibility, profitability, innovation and a stronger long-term path forward.
What we realized is that success isn’t one-size-fits-all.
I’ve been saying for years that the future is multi-model. Every entrepreneur defines success differently. Some want a traditional office. Some want a cloud-based environment. Some want a franchise. Some want a hybrid approach.
That’s what drove the creation of the Large Office Model.
We wanted to create an opportunity where larger operators could access enterprise-level technology, marketing, training, support and buying power while maintaining the autonomy that made them successful in the first place.
Today, we can truly meet brokers where they are, whether they’re a small independent office, a growing regional player or a large multi-office operation. We’re no longer asking people to fit into our model. We’re building models that fit the way successful entrepreneurs actually operate.
Real Estate magazine: How does the AGNT acquisition impact NextHome franchise owners in practical terms?
CM: This wasn’t about changing who we are. It was about accelerating what was already working.
The NextHome brand and Humans Over Houses® mindset remain. Our leadership team remains. The vision that we’ve spent more than a decade building remains.
I know that some owners will hear “acquisition” and brace for the usual pattern: culture shifts, leadership exits and what made the brand special gets diluted. That’s a fair instinct given some of what’s happened elsewhere in the industry. But that’s not what’s happening here.
We now have access to greater scale, additional resources, broader expertise and stronger long-term opportunities for our franchise owners. That doesn’t mean abandoning what and who got us here. It means giving our members access to more tools, technology, relationships and opportunities than we could have provided on our own.
Growth requires investment. Innovation requires investment. Expanding opportunities for franchise owners requires investment. This partnership gives us the ability to continue investing aggressively in the future while staying true to the values that built the company.
Everything people love about NextHome is still here. The difference is that we’re now even better positioned to compete over the next 10, 15 and 20 years.
Real Estate magazine: Where do you believe the brokerage industry is headed over the next several years, and how is NextHome preparing for that future?
CM: I believe the future is multi-model. For years, the industry has tried to force everyone into a single path. The problem is that entrepreneurs don’t all have the same goals. Some want a traditional office environment and some want a cloud-based operation. Some want to scale aggressively and others want to remain boutique.
The future belongs to companies that can successfully support different paths.
We’re also in a period where consumers demand more transparency, not less. We’re already seeing debates around private listing networks, data access and who controls the consumer relationship. Those conversations aren’t going away.
Consumers want access and choice. They want to see what’s available in the marketplace. Whenever we create barriers to information, we create friction, and friction rarely serves consumers well.
AI will continue to reshape workflows and new business models will emerge. Some companies will adapt while others won’t. But technology doesn’t replace trust. AI doesn’t replace relationships.
The brokerages and agents who continue to show up, build relationships, communicate honestly and put clients first will always have a place in this industry.
That’s why NextHome is investing in flexibility and building for multiple versions of success. The industry is moving away from one-size-fits-all solutions, and we intend to be one of the companies helping define what comes next.
Real Estate magazine: Has scale become a competitive advantage in real estate today in ways it wasn’t five or 10 years ago?
CM: Absolutely. Five or 10 years ago, scale mattered. Today, it’s essential.
Technology, consumer expectations and AI are evolving. Every one of those changes requires investment, talent and resources. Brokerages need partners that can innovate at that speed.
mindset keeps agents focused on what
matters most in real estate—the people.
That’s one of the things I’m most excited about with the AGNT acquisition. It’s about having access to the scale, resources and infrastructure necessary to remain competitive as the industry evolves.
We’re now able to support larger operators, invest more aggressively in technology and create stronger opportunities for franchise owners looking for a long-term home for their business.
Scale also matters because of what’s happening around inventory and data access. I’ve been involved in online listings since the early 2000s, and at a fundamental level, consumers want visibility. If you’re selling something valuable, you typically want the largest possible audience to see it.
That’s why I continue to believe broad exposure benefits consumers. As the industry navigates change, scale gives brokers access to technology, partnerships and innovation they might struggle to build on their own.
The brokers who are going to thrive over the next decade aren’t necessarily the biggest. They’re the ones aligned with organizations that are positioned to keep pace with where the industry is headed.
Real Estate magazine: As NextHome grows into its next chapter, how do you preserve the culture that’s made the brand so successful?
CM: The honest answer is that leadership doesn’t maintain the culture. Our people do.
Every time we welcome a new franchise owner into the network, our culture evolves a little bit. The question isn’t whether culture changes. The question is whether the people joining the organization strengthen it.
What has always made NextHome special is that our members aren’t passive participants. They’re invested and care deeply about this brand, the people in it and what we’ve built together.
When someone joins NextHome, they’re not just buying technology, marketing or training. They’re joining a community of people who genuinely want to see one another succeed.
Our members hold us accountable. They challenge us, push us to improve and help protect the standards that matter. That’s why our culture has remained so strong as we’ve grown.
I often tell people that not everyone is a NextHome fit, and that’s okay. We’re not trying to be everything to everyone. We want brokerage owners who believe in collaboration, who understand that culture and profitability can coexist, and who recognize that success comes from serving people well.
That’s why Humans Over Houses® continues to resonate. It’s not a slogan. It’s a reminder of what business is really about.
Technology matters. Marketing matters. Innovation matters. But at the end of the day, this business is still about people. The companies that forget that are going to struggle, no matter how much technology they have.
Growth only matters if you can preserve what made people want to join you in the first place. For us, that’s never been about being the biggest company in the room. It’s about being the company that people trust, believe in and are proud to represent.
I believe that’s why we’ve once again been named the No. 1 franchise in owner satisfaction by Franchise Business Review’s independent survey of over 300 brands.
As we enter our next chapter, our focus is on helping brokerage owners build stronger, more profitable businesses without sacrificing the culture that made them successful in the first place. If that sounds like the kind of future you’re looking for, it’s time to talk.
For more information, visit www.nexthome.com.
