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eXp Realty says it has grown from a standing start to more than 1,400 agents in South Africa in five years, a rise that the company says now makes it the country’s largest independent, non franchised real estate agency and the third largest estate agency overall.
The company’s South African arm, part of eXp International, said its network now operates nationwide and has climbed into the top three after previously sitting outside the top 6,000 agencies in the country. The company attributed the surge to an agent first approach and a cloud based brokerage model that it says appeals to agents who want to build their businesses without the limits of traditional franchise structures.
The growth milestone comes as the group prepares to host eXpcon Cape Town, an event expected to bring together leaders and agents from across its international network to talk strategy, new tools and the direction of the property market.
Felix Bravo, managing director of eXp International, said South Africa has become the company’s largest market outside North America, calling it proof of how quickly agents can scale when given what he described as the right platform.
Bravo said eXp has seen similar growth patterns in other markets, including New Zealand, and pointed to the company’s performance claims in the United Kingdom as an example of how the model translates into results. He said agents in the U.K. are averaging 47 days to sale, compared with an industry average of 89 days.
He said the momentum in South Africa reflects the same theme, that agents are choosing a structure that allows them to remain independent while building larger, more sustainable businesses.
Andrew Thompson, country leader for eXp Realty South Africa, said the five year growth story reflects confidence among agents who have joined the model. He said the company’s focus is not only expansion, but building an environment where agents can collaborate, grow professionally and deliver strong service.
eXp’s structure is built around a cloud based brokerage, meaning agents are not tied to physical branches in the way many traditional firms are. The company also offers equity awards to agents based on production and contributions to company growth, a feature that has been central to its pitch in multiple markets.
Parent company eXp World Holdings, which is publicly traded, also owns Virbela, a virtual platform used for meetings and collaboration, and SUCCESS Enterprises, the business behind SUCCESS magazine and related media.
eXp Realty describes itself as the largest independent real estate company in the world, with more than 89,000 agents across countries including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, India, Mexico, Portugal, France and several others.
In South Africa, the company is positioning its growth as a marker of shifting preferences in the estate agency sector, with more agents looking for flexible business models, wider referral networks and technology led support. The next test will be whether the company can keep adding agents and listings while maintaining service levels in a competitive market that includes long established franchised brands and a growing number of online first property businesses.
