The Team Is Not the Brokerage
"A team from Philadelphia just took over the franchise I'm in. Who do I actually work for now, and what happens to my split, my leads, and my pending deals?"
The surprising part is the direction. Rarity Real Estate, a Philadelphia-based team led by Jim Roche, is taking ownership of Keller Williams Jersey Shore, folding 150-plus agents into its structure effective November (Real Estate News, September 26). A team is the acquirer. A franchise is the acquired. That is the opposite of the usual story, and it is not isolated: the same week, Paragon Realtors, an 85-agent boutique, joined Compass in North Texas (The Real Deal, October 2), and the Compass-Anywhere integration kept onboarding legacy-brand agents onto one platform through the fall (HousingWire).
Teams are also a bigger share of the business than the industry narrative admits. NAR's 2026 Member Profile, released in June, found 21 percent of REALTORS worked as part of a team in 2025, the typical team about four people, and only 2 percent of teams closed zero transactions compared with 6 percent of solo agents (HousingWire; NAR Newsroom). When a team absorbs a franchise, the agents inside are the last to be asked what they want. None of them signed with the team.
The Direct Answer
A team is a layer between you and the broker. Your independent contractor agreement runs with the brokerage. Your team agreement, if you have one, is a second contract with the team leader. Two documents, two bosses, two sets of economics. The team is not the brokerage, and the brokerage is not the team, and the difference shows up the day the structure changes hands.
Here is the honest version, including the part most recruiting content omits. The split you are quoted is the team's split, applied after the brokerage takes its cut. Brokerage splits commonly run 70/30, 80/20, or 85/15 in the agent's favor. On team-sourced leads, the team split commonly runs 50/50, because the team paid for the lead, the marketing, and the transaction support (The Close; RealtyHub). Stack them and an agent on team-sourced leads can net roughly 30 to 40 percent of the original commission. That is not a bad deal when the team feeds you deals. It is a different business than the one you run solo.
What the split buys matters more than the split itself. Leads, marketing, transaction coordination, a CRM, training, accountability. Higher splits mean you buy your own; lower splits mean the team does it for you. The question is not "what is the split?" It is "what does the split buy, and who controls it?"
What Most Producers Get Wrong
The second-order factor nobody mentions: the team leader's agreement with the brokerage is the document that actually governs your career, and it can change owners without your signature. When the team leader moves, when the team's broker relationship ends, or when the team absorbs a franchise, your place in the structure is renegotiated in a room you are not in. Your ICA may transfer by assignment. Your leads may be rerouted to the new structure's priorities. Your pending deals follow the contract, not the conversation.
The second mistake is treating "the team" as one thing. The typical team is four people (NAR 2026 Member Profile). The leader's economics and yours are different contracts with different incentives. The leader is paid to grow the team and route leads. You are paid to close. Those are not automatically the same job, and the moment the team changes shape, they stop being aligned.
The Local Read, for Montgomery and Bucks
This is happening in this market's backyard. Rarity is Philadelphia-based. Realty ONE Group merged two of its Pennsylvania operations in September. BHGRE Realty Connect merged with Exceed Realty in Pennsylvania in July. In a market where everyone knows everyone, the team leader courting you is someone's former colleague, and the story of how a team treated its agents travels through offices that will matter to you for years.
The market math makes the split concrete. Bucks County's median sold price held at $530,000 in August, unchanged year over year, with active inventory near 1,000 homes (Bucks County Herald, via the Bucks County Association of Realtors and Bright MLS). Montgomery County's median ran about $508,000 over the three months ending August, up 8.1 percent year over year, with 1,283 active listings in September (Redfin; Realtor.com via FRED). A single side at those prices grosses roughly $13,000 at a typical rate. Run the stack: an 80/20 brokerage split leaves about $10,400; a 50/50 team split on top leaves roughly $5,200 before expenses. That is the number to know before you sign anything, and it is why the fee stack matters as much as the split.
How to Actually Evaluate It
Three checks, in this order.
One: run the number. Take your last twelve closed sides, apply the brokerage split, then the team split, then subtract the team's fees: lead costs, marketing, transaction fees. Compare the net with what you keep today. Most producers price the split and skip the fee stack. The fee stack is where the gap hides.
Two: ask the team leader the direct question: "Who signs my ICA, and who signs my team agreement? If your arrangement with the brokerage changes or ends, what happens to my leads, my pending deals, and my client list?" The answer tells you where the risk sits. A leader who answers with documents is telling you something. One who answers with assurances is too.
Three: look up the assignment and change-of-control language in your current ICA. Does your agreement transfer to a new owner without your signature? Note the language, then have counsel review it. This is a contract problem, not a feelings problem.
Teams are not brokerages, and the difference shows up the day the structure changes hands. If you are weighing a team or watching one absorb your office, text [PHONE] the question you cannot get answered and I will answer it straight, no strings. Craig Lerch, broker at eXp Realty (eXp Luxury; Sports & Entertainment).