Why Agent Churn Matters More Than You Think
If you lead a brokerage, you live or die by two levers: recruiting and retention. Recruiting fills the pipeline; retention compounds it. I’ve audited hundreds of brokerage P&Ls over the years, and nothing erodes profit, culture, and momentum faster than agent churn. The natural question I get from owners is simple: what is a good agent churn rate, and how do I keep mine there while I scale?
To answer that, I’ll define agent churn in practical terms, lay out current benchmarks, quantify the hidden costs, and then share a playbook I use with clients to identify risk, fix root causes, and build a consistently low-churn, high-output team.
What Does Agent Churn Mean?
Agent churn means is the percentage of licensed agents on your roster who leave your firm for another brokerage during a defined period, usually a rolling 12 months. This is distinct from agents leaving the industry entirely; churn measures competitive loss—the agents you worked hard to recruit but couldn’t keep.
Industry Benchmarks for Churn
Real estate is a high-churn business. Recent data shows that around 10% of agents change brokerages annually, and if you exclude non-producers, that number jumps to 14% among active agents. For context, the largest offices (500+ agents) experience even higher churn—agents are 33% more likely to leave big offices than small ones.
So, if you’re sitting at 10–15% annual churn, you’re right in line with the industry average. But here’s the kicker: anything above 20% should set off alarms. At that point, you’re bleeding talent faster than you can replace it, and the financial impact is brutal.
Seasonality and Trendlines
Churn isn’t linear across the calendar. Switching tends to peak around spring and then decelerate as we exit the prime recruiting window. March and April often beat the averages; late Q2 into Q3 tapers; and by late Q3/early Q4, movement slows significantly. If you build your recruiting sprints around these cycles—and your retention interventions two to three months before them—you’ll catch more agents before they shop and win head-to-head battles when they do.
What’s a Good Churn Rate?
Here’s my rule of thumb:
- Excellent: Under 10% annually
- Healthy: 10–15% annually
- Warning Zone: 15–20%
- Critical: 20%+
If you’re under 10%, you’re doing something right—great culture, strong support, and competitive compensation. If you’re creeping toward 20%, it’s time to audit your onboarding, training, and leadership strategy.
The Hidden Cost of Churn
Every departure costs more than you think. Recruiting fees, onboarding, tech setup, and lost pipeline value add up fast. Industry research estimates $50,000–$125,000 per agent in hidden costs when you factor in lost deals and productivity gaps. For a 100-agent brokerage with 25% turnover, that’s nearly $1.9 million in annual losses. Ouch.
How to Calculate Churn Correctly
If you start the year with 120 agents and end with 138, it can feel like net growth signals low churn. Don’t fall for it. Raw headcount masks the two-way door. To calculate annual churn:
Churn Rate = (Number of Departures ÷ Average Headcount) × 100
If 24 agents left and your average headcount was 130, your churn is 18.5%—even if your top-line count grew. This is exactly why a reported 2% agent-count increase might actually reflect 12% joining and 10% leaving.
Segment Your Churn—Don’t Average It
An overall churn rate hides where the real damage occurs. Segment by:
- Tenure: 0–12 months, 12–24 months, 2–5 years, 5+ years
- Production Tier: Non-producer, <$5M, $5–$15M, $15–$50M, $50M+
- Team vs. Solo: Different dynamics, different risks
- Office Type: Mega office, mid-size, boutique/virtual pod
If your 0–24 month cohort is churning at 30% while your veterans churn at 8%, you don’t have a “culture problem”—you have a ramp and mentorship problem.
Leading Indicators of Churn
People rarely leave overnight. The signals show up months in advance:
- Pipeline stall (inactive CRM activity)
- Reduced training attendance
- Drop in listings taken
- Fewer team huddles
- Delayed transaction submissions
Track these behaviors and intervene early. A simple scorecard in your CRM can predict who’s drifting.
Retention Playbook That Works
- Eliminate Friction in Onboarding
The first 90 days determine early tenure risk. Build a 30/60/90-day success plan covering contracts, buyer/seller playbooks, lead follow-up scripts, and accountability touchpoints. - Match Tech Stack to Outcomes
Give agents a best-in-class CRM, marketing engine, and content calendar. If leaving means losing leverage, they’ll stay. - Teach the Business, Not Just the Tools
Train on pricing strategy, listing conversion, negotiation, and niche domination. - Build a Real Community
Mentorship circles, peer-led workshops, and public recognition drive loyalty across all production tiers.
Compensation Models and Churn Reality
Fee structures influence mobility, but they don’t immunize you. Low-fee, high-split, and revenue-share models can be phenomenal recruiting magnets; the flip side is a revolving door if support, onboarding, and culture don’t backstop the promise.
Quantifying the Upside of Lower Churn
Let’s say you run 150 agents at an average $6M volume per agent and 2.5% blended commission. At 18% churn, you lose 27 agents per year. Using a conservative $50K loss per departure, that’s $1.35M in churn cost. Drop churn to 12%, and you’ve effectively captured $450K–$900K in avoided losses.
Recruiting and Retention: Two Sides of the Same Coin
Recruiting and retention are two sides of the same flywheel. A brokerage that runs campaigns timed to seasonal mobility, offers a clear, credible value prop, and delivers immediate activation for new joiners will not only sign more agents but keep them through the first 24 months—the highest-risk window.
Bottom Line
A “good” agent churn rate isn’t a vanity badge—it’s a reflection of how well your brokerage converts recruiting into durable growth. Under 10% is elite, 10–15% is healthy, and any number above that deserves a root-cause analysis and a focused 90-day plan.
About MNKY Agency
At MNKY Agency, we recruit and retain top agents for every kind of brokerage. Our pay-per-transaction model means we only earn when you do—$100 per closed transaction, no monthly fees. Let’s get growing.
About the Author
J. Stuart Hill is the founder of MNKY Agency and a 20-year veteran of real estate marketing, recruiting, and brokerage growth. I build businesses for agents and empires for brokers. When I’m not architecting recruiting engines or retention playbooks, I’m coaching teams on AIVSO (AI, Voice, and Search Optimization) and modern lead-to-close systems that never feel automated.
