Virtual broker eXp sees record profits in Q2

Firm reported $8.3M profit, up from $2.2M loss a year ago

eXp Realty founder and CEO Glenn Sanford (Image via eXp)
eXp Realty founder and CEO Glenn Sanford (Image via eXp)

Virtual brokerage eXp Realty’s profits surged to a record $8.3 million during the second quarter as homebuying was forced to go remote, the firm’s parent company said Wednesday.

For the quarter ending June 30, eXp World Holdings said revenue grew 33 percent year over year to $354 million. For the third consecutive quarter, eXp was in the black. The company reported a net loss of $2.2 million during the second quarter of 2019.

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The strong results were largely expected, following a quarter in which physical offices were closed and agents mostly conducted virtual showings.

“Due to the performance of our agents and the power of our cloud-based brokerage model, eXp Realty achieved exceptional results with strong growth in all areas, despite initial impacts on the housing market from business restrictions related to Covid-19,” founder and CEO Glenn Sanford said in a statement.

Sanford added that eXp has always had “the minimum footprint required” to operate, and therefore it was able to quickly reduce expenses during the pandemic. In April, eXp cut 15 percent of its staff in what it said was a proactive measure. It also eliminated all business travel, paused hiring and slashed executive pay.

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The firm ended the second quarter with 31,000 agents globally, up 54 percent year over year.

Despite health and economic concerns, eXp said sales volume rose 26 percent to $13 billion during the quarter, up from $10.3 billion during the same period in 2019. The number of sales increased 22 percent to 43,653.

Use of eXp’s immersive software VirBELA, which powers its own virtual office, also “expanded quickly” during the quarter, the company said.

Earlier this week, eXp said it would launch a consumer-facing listing portal after acquiring Showcase IDX, a search plugin used by brokerages to display listings on their websites.

During the second half of 2020, eXp expects to formally launch in five additional international markets.