The brokerage landscape is shifting quickly. Commission pressure, market volatility and industry consolidation are forcing many agents to take a harder look at where they build their businesses.
Working with agents across Howard Hanna’s 15-state footprint, I can hear the conversation changing. Some of the best agents in this industry are thinking less about short-term incentives and more about long-term opportunity. They want leadership they can trust, platforms that support growth and brokerages with the scale to help them compete in an increasingly complex market.
The best agents in this industry are thinking about where they can grow for the next decade.
Agents are not simply choosing a brokerage anymore. They are choosing where they want to build their careers.
At Howard Hanna, we are seeing that shift play out across our markets. Agents and teams joining the company consistently point to the same factors: strong leadership, integrated services and the stability of a family-owned brokerage that has continued investing through multiple market cycles.
Philadelphia offers one of the clearest examples of that alignment.
Howard Hanna’s recent expansion in the Philadelphia market has quickly gained momentum. The company entered the region through a partnership with longtime industry leader Art Herling, bringing more than 130 agents representing nearly $290 million in annual sales volume into the company’s network.
Since establishing its presence there, Howard Hanna has continued to see recruiting activity across the region, as additional agents and teams choose to join the company.
What many of those agents describe is not simply a recruiting decision but a cultural fit — a brokerage led by a family that has spent decades investing in agents, offices and communities resonates differently than the short-cycle recruiting environment many agents are seeing elsewhere in the industry.
The momentum is not limited to one market.
Across Howard Hanna’s markets, agents and teams continue making the move for similar reasons. The Jen Mascaro Team, a five-agent group with nearly 850 career transactions and $180 million in career sales volume, recently joined the company’s Murrysville, Pennsylvania office, citing shared values and alignment with a locally owned brokerage model.
The Jen Mascaro Team joined Howard Hanna’s Murrysville, Pennsylvania, office, bringing nearly 850 career transactions and more than $180 million in career sales volume.
In Pittsburgh, the Coulter & Castillo Group, a six-agent team with more than $250 million in career sales volume, joined the Howard Hanna Mt. Lebanon office. The team pointed to the strength of the Howard Hanna brand, its local roots and the company’s leadership culture as key factors in the decision.
Recruiting momentum often captures headlines, but retention tells the deeper story.
According to Courted’s 2025 State of Brokerage Recruiting and Retention report, Howard Hanna ranked No. 1 in retention among the top 25 U.S. brokerages, reflecting one of the most stable agent platforms in the industry.
That consistency reflects a model built around long-term relationships with agents, supported by visible leadership, strong local offices and a culture that prioritizes agent success.
The brokerage landscape will continue to evolve. New models will emerge, market cycles will shift and recruiting competition will remain intense.
But one theme is becoming increasingly clear. Agents are thinking more intentionally about where they want to build their businesses and the leadership and support that will help them grow.
For many of those agents, the answer is not just about commission structures or short-term incentives. It is about finding a brokerage with the stability, leadership and scale to support their business for the long run.
