Business continues largely undisturbed. But a survey of hundreds of agents and brokers shows the real estate industry faces thornier situations during the contentious 2024 election.
This report is the first in a two-part series focused on the presidential election and is available exclusively to subscribers of Inman IntelInman’s data and research department. Subscribe today and come back on October 28 for the series’ conclusion.
The results of the Intel survey are clear: for most real estate agents and brokerage leaders, the 2024 election discourse has little impact on their daily experiences.
Showings continue, offers are submitted, clients close, and agents get paid – regardless of whether they agree on what needs to be done in Washington, D.C.
But as the two major parties present increasingly conflicting visions of the country’s future — and even competing narratives about the recent past — some agents report that instances of political tension with clients are becoming less and less rare.
And some brokers say they’ve seen this create friction within the brokerage itself.
- Many agents — almost half of those surveyed in late September and early October by the Inman Intel Index – say their customers bring up politics, compared to only 1 in 5 who say their customers never bring up the subject.
In late September and early October, hundreds of agents and broker leaders shared with Intel who they plan to support in November and what their experiences were with clients and broker team members.
Their answers shed light on an industry that typically bends over backwards to prevent personal differences from standing in the way of a deal.
The results also show how two different experiences – that of a real estate professional who supports Donald Trump, and that of a real estate agent or broker who supports Kamala Harris – sometimes diverge.
Read the full overview in the report below.
The agent-client relationship
Whether it happens at a screening or in another setting, it’s clear that many agents encounter clients who don’t express their political views, especially in a presidential election year.
And while most real estate professionals see little difference between 2024 and 2020, about a quarter of respondents told Intel that election calls are causing more customer problems than last time.
- A significant majority of agent respondents – 2 out of 3 – said this election is no more pressure about the agent-client relationship than the 2020 election did.
- But from officers who say they’ve noticed a change, those who have the tension is higher this year are almost 4 to 1 in number those who say it’s less tense than they remember four years ago.
As mentioned above, it is not uncommon for the topic of politics to come up during a showing with a client.
That said, despite occasional instances where tension bubbles beneath the surface, operatives of all political stripes tend to control the situation rather than foment conflict.
- Only 2 percent of agent respondents said they are comfortable with a client sharing a political opinion they disagree with.
- On the other hand, 48 percent of agent respondents Said they “almost always” keep their opinions to themselves when their client shares a political opinion that doesn’t align with the officer’s beliefs.
Yet this leaves the door open for political conversations of a different nature: a conversation in which a client makes a point with which the agent agrees.
- 23 percent of agent respondents told Intel that once they learn that their customers share their opinions, the agent feels comfortable voicing their own opinions.
- But a share almost as large – 18 percent – will almost always refrain from sharing political opinions, even if they think their clients agree with them.
But these types of client conversations aren’t the only way the election has filtered into the real estate industry.
The broker-agent relationship
Brokerage owners and executives are less likely to report that politics is a common topic of conversation at the brokerage level.
- About 1 in 3 broker leaders who responded to the Intel Index in September said their agents occasionally bring up politics, versus politics. 1 in 7 who say their agents almost never bring up the subject.
Within the walls of the brokerage, however, executives and broker-owners are far less likely to keep quiet when they hear an agent’s political opinion they disagree with.
- Only 20 percent of broker leader respondents told Intel that they “almost always” keep their opinions to themselves when an agent shares a political position they disagree with, compared to 48 percent of agents who said the same about their interactions with customers.
- A similar share of broker leaders – 20 percent – told Intel they feel comfortable disagreeing with an agent’s political views, compared to the 2 percent of agents who say the same about their customer interactions.
This freer attitude makes sense. The broker-agent relationship is much more familiar than the client-agent relationship. And when a political discussion between agent and broker goes south, from the broker’s perspective, a deal is unlikely to be jeopardized.
Interestingly, some brokers believe that this election has been less disruptive at the broker level than the 2020 election.
- 11 percent of broker leaders told Intel that this election has put less strain on the broker-agent relationship than they remember it happening in 2020.
- Yet these leaders are outnumbered 25 percent who said that this election has caused more tension than last time, and the 63 percent who said it was about the same.
These takeaways reflect the terms and conditions both within the brokerage and beyond.
But Intel also found clear differences in how Trump supporters and Harris supporters engage in politics in their real estate businesses.
2 real estate agent experiences
Most of the agents who responded to the Intel Index this month don’t have a clear sense of where their typical client falls on the political spectrum.
But of those that do, the research revealed some patterns.
Agents who want to vote for Harris are…
- …they are more likely to be out of step with their clients’ political beliefs — 23 percent of Harris supporters say they find their customers more conservative than them, compared to alone 11 percent of Trump supporters say they think their customers are more liberal than they are.
- …and they are more likely to report an “unwelcome tension” when their clients bring up politics — 11 percent of Harris supporters report feeling such tension while alone 3 percent of Trump supporters say the same.
Meanwhile, some patterns of behavior with customers appeared to be more common among Trump-supporting agents in the study.
Cops Planning to Vote for Trump Are…
- …they are more likely to say that their clients bring up politics — 51 percent of Trump supporters say this of their customers, compared to just 45 percent of Harris supporters. Only in connection with that 15 percent of Trump supporters say their clients never bring up politics, compared to 26 percent of Harris supporters saying the same thing.
- …and they are more likely to report that political interactions with clients are becoming increasingly tense — 31 percent of Trump supporters say politics in 2024 has been a source of greater tension with clients than they remember in 2020, compared to 21 percent of Harris supporters who report the same experience.
Next week, Intel will delve deeper into the results of Inman-Dig Insights’ consumer survey, which examines customer behavior and attitudes toward the real estate industry through the lens of support for Harris and support for Trump.
Notes on the Inman Intel Index methodology: This month Intel Index questionnaire was conducted from September 18 to October 4 and received 441 responses. The entire Inman reader community was invited to participate, and a rotating, random selection of community members were asked to participate by email.. Users responded to a series of questions related to their self-described corner of the real estate industry – including real estate agents, brokerage leaders, lenders and proptech entrepreneurs. The results reflect the views of the involved Inman community, which do not always reflect those of the wider real estate industry. This questionnaire is carried out monthly.
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