Who You Tell First When You Change Brokerages
"I've decided it's time to move brokerages. Who do I tell first, the broker I'm leaving, the clients I have under contract, or the people who keep sending me referrals, and what exactly do I say to each?"
Why It Is Coming Up Now
A production slump does not predict leaving. Who already left your office does. That is the freshest finding in the Q3 2026 Agent Migration and Brokerage Model Performance Report from Recruiting Insight and Lone Wolf Technologies, out October 20 and covered by Inman: 109,176 producing agents tracked across eight quarters, and the strongest predictor of who leaves next is who left last. About one in eight producers switches every year, so a lot of producers are at the announcement stage this cycle, and most will get the order wrong.
The Direct Answer
Order matters more than wording. First, your broker: in person or by phone the day you decide, then a short written resignation, grateful and brief, no list of grievances. Second, the clients under contract, by phone, before anyone else can tell them: the contract, the timeline, and your involvement do not change; only paperwork and supervision move. Third, past clients and your sphere, after it is official: an email, a postcard, one social post. Your name, the new firm, the effective date, an unchanged phone number. That is the whole announcement.
What Most Producers Get Wrong About It
The part nobody leads with: in Pennsylvania the written notice goes to the State Real Estate Commission within 10 days of the change, not to your broker. Your license goes interim the day you surrender it, you cannot practice until it is reissued, and MLS access is suspended in that window. Producers plan the conversation and forget the gap. Also: do not tell anyone before it is official, not even the office friend you trust. It reads as recruiting, and brokers can cut off access the same day. Export your database first.
The Local Read, for Montgomery and Bucks
Everyone knows everyone here. A seller in Warrington, a buyer moving up 309 toward Ambler: each has two agents in the family, and the referral web that built your book is the same web that will hear about the move, often before the MLS changes. Keep the script short, grateful, and identical everywhere. It arrives mid-decision: Bucks County ran 22 days on market in September with 678 sales, Montgomery 23 days with 868 (Bright MLS, September 2026). Active clients will ask who holds their file. They should hear it from you.
How to Actually Evaluate It
Three checks. One: export the database before you say anything. Two: read the notice and non-solicitation clauses in the independent contractor agreement and have counsel review them. I am not giving legal advice, just telling you where to look. Three: write the resignation letter and the client script in the same hour. If the client script says anything about the old brokerage, rewrite it.
I am a broker at eXp Realty (eXp Luxury; Sports & Entertainment), so read my bias.
Dreading the conversation?
Craig has watched agents make and announce this decision for 37-plus years. Text him the three lines you plan to say to your broker, and he will tell you how he would say it. No strings, no follow-up pitch.