Mark D. Johnson, MBA · Managing Partner, Recruiting Insight · Adjunct Faculty, Chapman University and South Orange County Community College District · California Licensed Broker
I’ve spent more than 30 years in real estate leadership. These days, most of my work comes back to one question: why do agents move, and what can brokerages do about it? Here’s where that work has shown up in the press.
As featured in: The Wall Street Journal · Inman · HousingWire · RISMedia · Real Estate News · Real Estate Agent Magazine · NBC · CBS · ABC · Fox · CW · iHeartRadio · Yahoo! News
Highlights
Real Estate Agents Are Quitting the Slow Housing Market
The Wall Street Journal · May 28, 2026
Nicole Friedman’s look at the fourth straight year of agents leaving the business, and what it means for the agents who stay.
“The most productive agents are still succeeding, but the housing downturn has ‘hollowed out what I’m going to call the real-estate professional middle class.'”
You’re probably watching the wrong agents for flight risk: Report
Inman · October 20, 2026
Our Q3 2026 research with Lone Wolf found that falling production doesn’t predict who leaves. Colleagues walking out does.
“A slipping sales number won’t tell you who’s about to leave.”
The warning signs an agent may leave your brokerage
HousingWire · October 19, 2026
The early signals brokers miss, and why stay interviews beat exit interviews.
“The exit interview isn’t a retention strategy. It’s an autopsy.”
2025 Real Estate Newsmakers
RISMedia · January 31, 2025
Named a 2025 Newsmaker with my business partner, Ben Hess, for helping brokerages recruit top producers and reduce failed hires.
The mistakes brokers are making with recruiting and retention
HousingWire RealTrending Podcast · February 26, 2024
A conversation on recruiting versus true talent attraction, culture, and focusing on productivity over headcount.
Why Agents Really Leave
- Real Estate Agent Magazine · Oct 21, 2026 · Before You Make a Move, Score the 8 D’s. My article for agents weighing a move, with a scorecard for comparing firms. “No split fixes an empty pipeline.”
- RISMedia · May 1, 2026 · Agent Mobility Surges in Q1 2026. Brand changes, “raid zones” and why internal movers outperform. “The ‘wait-and-see’ era is officially over.”
- HousingWire · Feb 2, 2026 · $15.7B in volume quietly changes hands. Our 2025 annual agent migration report.
- HousingWire · Jul 30, 2025 · Consolidation, mobility shape agent recruiting in Q2. “Lead or bleed.”
- RISMedia · Apr 15, 2025 · Agent Migration and Brokerage Model Performance Report. Our study with BoldTrail: execution, not brokerage model, drives success.
- Real Estate News · Apr 15, 2025 · 8 recruiting strategies for brokerages ‘serious about growth’
Recruiting Strategy and Talent Attraction
- HousingWire · Apr 2026 · Agent personas guide targets brokerage recruiting. “Recruiting is not about convincing people; it is about diagnosing them.”
- HousingWire · Feb 25, 2026 · HiringCenter Pro adds automation and analytics. “An agent’s recruiting experience is their first customer service interaction with a brokerage.”
- HousingWire · Sep 21, 2023 · 7 steps to improve your talent attraction game. My column for broker-owners.
- Real Estate News · Nov 7, 2023 · Recruiting Insight and Talent Scout unite
The Housing Market
- The Wall Street Journal · Nov 2021 · U.S. Home Sales on Track for Biggest Year in 15 Years. Quoted as CEO of JPAR Real Estate. “Many folks don’t want to sell because they don’t know where they’re going to move.”
- Television, 2022: NewsNation and KRON San Francisco (29 broadcasts nationwide), NBC DFW, ABC Augusta, CBS (KMVT)
- Radio, 2021–2022: KRLD Dallas–Fort Worth, KGNW Seattle, KTRH Houston (iHeart), WLW Cincinnati (iHeart), Fox News Radio
- Print and digital: Yahoo! News, Dallas Business Journal, WFAA
Full archive: every article, report and interview is on the Recruiting Insight press page.
Want help applying this in your brokerage? Book a 30-minute conversation with Mark at calendly.com/mjsession.