‘Off to the races’: Real, REMAX CEOs on tech and culture after acquisition

Just after announcing an $880 million acquisition of REMAX Holdings, Tamir Poleg, CEO of The Real Brokerage, described the deal as historic for the real estate industry — combining two companies whose leaders say share a common vision for an evolving business.

In an interview with HousingWire, Poleg and REMAX Holdings CEO Erik Carlson said conversations between the two companies accelerated recently but were rooted in years of mutual respect.

“There’s no adult on this planet who is not familiar with the REMAX brand,” Poleg said. “Even before I started in real estate, I knew the name REMAX. I had a lot of appreciation. It was just there in the back of my mind.”

Announced Monday, the all-stock and cash transaction is set to combine Miami-based Real’s roughly 33,000 agents and proprietary AI-enabled brokerage platform with Denver-based REMAX’s globally recognized brand and approximately 8,500 franchise offices.

The new holding company — called Real REMAX Group — would support more than 180,000 real estate professionals across more than 120 countries and territories.

Carlson, who became REMAX’s CEO in 2023, emphasized that cultural alignment between the two organizations was a critical factor in moving forward with the deal.

“When you think about integration, when you think about bringing scale together, when you think about what makes success and what makes failure — I think having the right people on the bus is really important,” he said. “And these two, not only employee bases, have cultural alignment. I think agents in the field do too. So I’m very optimistic and very excited about the future of the Real REMAX Group.”

Technology integration and optionality

When asked about the plan for REMAX franchisees, Poleg said the company intends to offer reZEN — Real’s integrated transaction management and back-office platform — to REMAX franchisees on an optional basis, not as a mandate.

He noted that many REMAX broker owners are facing margin compression because they pay for multiple external tools that are not integrated and still rely on manual processes.

“What we can bring to the table is a deep understanding of their back-office operations, because we operate a massive brokerage and the technology that we developed can help instill a lot of efficiency in their operations, which is the reZEN platform,” Poleg said. “We don’t force it. It’s not mandatory, but we think that the ones that will opt in will enjoy better economics and better efficiency.”

On top of the platform, Poleg said Real Wallet, One Real Mortgage and One Real Title would also be offered to the entire REMAX network.

Competitive landscape and scale

Asked about how competitors such as eXp World Holdings and Compass might respond to the consolidation, Poleg said Real REMAX Group’s focus will remain internal.

“I think that what we did today is kind of historic in terms of the real estate industry,” he said. “We’re combining two of the best companies in the field into one, providing a lot of upside for all stakeholders — for agents, for franchisees, for employees, for shareholders — and this is what we’re focused on.”

The combined company, as it stands, supported roughly 1.8 million transaction sides globally in 2025.

Closing timeline and shareholder support

Poleg said he does not foresee hurdles to shareholder approval — citing that major shareholders on both sides have already committed to supporting the transaction.

REMAX co-founder and chairman Dave Liniger, who controls about 38% of REMAX Holdings’ voting power, has agreed to vote in favor of the deal. Officers and directors of Real and their affiliates, holding roughly 16% of Real’s shares, have also agreed to support the transaction, the companies said Monday.

The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to shareholder approval, regulatory clearances and court approval in British Columbia.

Upon closing, Poleg will serve as chairman and CEO of Real REMAX Group.

“We have an amazing community of agents and best-in-class technology,” he said. “When we looked at different players in the marketplace, we saw that REMAX is an amazing brand with a global presence and great brand equity — and we just saw that these two companies are extremely complimentary. It starts with culture. It starts with the people. As soon as I got to know Erik, when he joined REMAX, we understood that we get along well as individuals.

“The only thing is the regulatory approval that we will be seeking. Then we’re off to the races of building a great company together.”