Moving
Moving to Real Without Losing Your Listings and Pending Deals
Updated
Bottom line: Your current brokerage agreement decides whether your listings and buyer clients move with you, and Real says it cannot step in. A pending deal closes with your old broker, passes through Real or transfers to Real, by your state's or province's rule.
Alexis Ruiz-Ney, Partner, Jumpstart Partners · Concierge Director, Houston Properties TeamOr call (713) 425-4194.
Who decides what happens to your listings?
Your current brokerage does. For active listings and pending transactions, Real's policy defaults to what your previous brokerage's agreement says about them, and Real says it cannot guarantee your old brokerage will release them and is unable to get involved.
Where your old brokerage lets a listing go, Real describes two ways to move it, depending on your MLS's policies: cancel it and re-list it with Real, or transfer it to Real. If the old brokerage charges a fee to release the listing, you enter that fee as a referral when the property goes under contract, and all of Real's splits and fees apply. If it keeps the listing, Real will not intervene.
A buyer who has signed a representation agreement but is not yet under contract follows the same rule. Ideally, Real says, your old brokerage lets you cancel the agreement and re-sign the buyer at Real, and a fee to release the buyer is entered as a referral in the same way.
What happens to deals already under contract?
That depends on who pays you and on your state's or province's rule. If your old brokerage pays you, or closing, title or escrow pays you directly, Real says no action is required.
Some states and provinces require the commission to be paid through Real. There, if your old brokerage stays the broker of record, you fill in Real's passthrough form and report the deal to Real no later than 90 days from the date your license moved. Real enters each approved passthrough deal in your reZEN account within 2 business days, as a referral, and you give your old brokerage its reference number so it can send the funds. If the contract itself transfers to Real instead, you enter it in reZEN like any other deal, and Real's splits and fees apply.
Real's policy sorts every state and province it lists by its rule on these deals, as the table below shows.
| Rule | United States | Canada |
|---|---|---|
| Passthrough required | California, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington | Manitoba, Saskatchewan |
| Passthrough not permitted | None listed | Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, New Brunswick |
| Passthrough not required | Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wyoming | None listed |
How do you tell your clients you moved?
From reZEN. The megaphone icon opens Real's Marketing Center, whose Creative Studio has a set of agent announcement designs that you customize in Canva. Real Design Center has the same designs and fills in your photo and details from your reZEN profile.
What happens to your board and MLS membership?
You have 30 days from signing Real's Independent Contractor Agreement (ICA) to affiliate with a board and an MLS, and Real's broker has to be a member of any board or association you join. Some boards let you change your affiliation online. Others need a form, which you complete and send to Real's broker for signature.
Questions & answers
What else do agents in the US and Canada ask?
What happens to my listings when I move to Real?
Your current brokerage agreement decides. Real's policy for active listings defaults to what your previous brokerage's agreement says, and Real says it cannot guarantee a release or get involved. If your old brokerage lets a listing go, you cancel and re-list it with Real or transfer it, depending on your MLS. If it charges a fee to release it, you enter the fee as a referral when the property goes under contract.
All of Real's splits and fees apply to a listing entered that way. If your old brokerage keeps the listing, Real will not intervene. A buyer under a representation agreement but not yet under contract follows the same rule: ideally your old brokerage lets you cancel the agreement and re-sign the buyer at Real.
What happens to my pending deals when I switch to Real?
If your old brokerage pays you, or closing, title or escrow pays you directly, Real says nothing needs to happen. Where your state or province requires the commission to be paid through Real, you report the deal to Real on its passthrough form no later than 90 days after your license moves, and Real enters it in reZEN within 2 business days as a referral from your old brokerage.
If the contract itself transfers to Real, you enter it in reZEN like any other deal, and Real's splits and fees apply. Real's policy, as of July 2026, lists ten states and two provinces that require a passthrough, four provinces that do not permit one, and 31 states and the District of Columbia that do not require one.
How do I tell my clients I moved to Real?
Real gives you announcement designs for it. In reZEN, the megaphone icon opens Real's Marketing Center, and its Creative Studio has a set of agent announcement designs you customize in Canva, so you need a Canva account. Real Design Center carries the same designs and fills in your photo and details from your reZEN profile, and you can download or share the result.
Your board and MLS move happens alongside it: you have 30 days from signing the ICA to affiliate with a board and an MLS, and Real's broker has to be a member of any board or association you join.
This page explains Real's published policy, and it is not legal advice. Read your current brokerage agreement before you move, and take questions about a listing, a buyer agreement or a pending deal to your current broker or to a real estate lawyer where you are licensed.