Erik Carlson: So real quick, Ron, I’ll pass it over to Amy for some commentary because she’s obviously closer to being an agent, a team leader and running a brokerage than I am. And she’s probably forgotten more than I’ll ever know. But I think that obviously we need to still see some of the rules, right? So some of the specifics aren’t necessarily outlined to the extent where you can make some changes. And you’re starting to see some folks come out with whether it’s different buyer agreements, et cetera. And so first and foremost, what we wanted to do is obviously let our community know that we’re there to support them. Like we always have been throughout our history to help them through tough times or with updates that happen quickly.
And so education is kind of first and foremost and kind of getting back to the basics of the value you provide, your negotiation skills, how you talk about compensation for that value. And then we’ll be in a good situation in order to make changes to agreements, processes, things of that type of nature. And I’ll turn it over to Amy because she’s obviously had her feet on the street here more recently and is hearing kind of what’s happening at the brokerage level.
Amy Lessinger: Sure. Well, and just a little bit of history. Buyer agency came into play in the mid-1990s. There was a big shift because buyers, historically, they were not represented. And they did a big study leading up to it where almost three quarters of buyers out there thought that when an agent showed them a home, they were being represented. So they made a big shift and a big change. So even though these other states have not had mandatory buyer agency agreements, those agreements exist and have existed for a very long time and have been definitely widely used. It’s just that they weren’t mandatory. So this change is not so colossal among agents out there. They are familiar with what it means to be represented or to be a buyer’s agent.
And so now, though, it becomes mandatory. And some of the fields, of course, are going to change that elaborate regarding compensation and specifying an amount, et cetera. So we will anticipate that those changes in the forms will come at the local level. And they will be disseminated. And that’s one of our strengths, again, is that our brokers, boots on the ground, they will be able to navigate that with speed and efficiency.
Ronald Kamdem: Thanks so much.
Operator: Your next question comes from Tommy McJoynt with KBW. Please go ahead.
Tommy McJoynt: Hey, guys. Good morning. Thanks for taking our questions. Along, I guess, a similar line of questioning, with all the data that you see on your agents and perhaps even anecdotally based on your FaceTime with your agents at the annual convention, is there any evidence of RE/MAX agents or, frankly, their local competitors experimenting with compensation arrangements that are different than the typical call it, you know, 2.5% rate? I understand it depends on the local market. Perhaps something like $6 compensation amounts or slimmed down offerings, anything of that sort that you’re hearing or seeing in the data?
Amy Lessinger: Well, first of all, hi, Tommy. First of all, I think, it’s important to say that, you know, rates have never been set. They’ve always been negotiable. And varying models have existed for a very long time, whether it be flat fee-based, percentage-based, et cetera. So note, at this moment we’re not seeing a large you know an up-tick and insurgents of variation there. I just haven’t — I haven’t really heard the network talking too much about that yet.
Erik Carlson: Yes. I mean, I guess, what I’d say is, like from our four there isn’t like a an old model that’s now a new model that has all of a sudden kind of a quick fix. I think from our perspective, and our brokers and agents especially at our fault for were just talking about the idea that they’ve always spoken about the value that they provide either on the seller or the buyer side, and this is going to be different, obviously with maybe agreement before they go to showing et cetera, et cetera. However, the idea that their full-time professionals helps them because they’ve got tenure and they’ve got productivity. So like they have more swings at the bat. So they’re actually probably a little bit more prepared than others from that perspective.
And that’s not, I mean, we’re obviously proud of the community at RE/MAX, but I do think full-time professionals and folks that are more productive you know in turbulent times it helps them to get through it the peaks and valleys.
Tommy McJoynt: Thanks. That makes sense. And switching gears over to the international agent side, this may get asked every couple of quarters, but I just want to hear the latest update. If I look at the sort of just take kind of the global fee revenues and kind of divide it by the number of non-US and Canada agents. It looks like that number has been running around kind of $200. Analogically, I think sort of I think of as a monetization opportunity. Would you see kind of the prospects for that to be increasing, decreasing? Kind of what initiatives do you have to potentially move that number?
Erik Carlson: Tommy, I’ll start there. It’s definitely something that’s on the roadmap. I mean, you’re right. The fees have been running around $200. We have a great network in, just about, I think, 110 countries. A lot of agents out there, there are definitely monetization opportunities. We’re not going to talk about that strategy here on the call. I know you’d like to. However, I don’t see downside there. I only see nothing but upside.
Tommy McJoynt: Got it. Thank you.
Operator: Your next question comes from John Campbell with Stephens. Please go ahead.
John Campbell: Hey, guys. Good morning. On the exiting April agent count you guys provided in the press release, if you were just to keep that static or just kind of hold the line for the rest of the year, it looks like I’m just getting down. I think total agents down maybe 120 bps year-over-year exiting this year. The low end of the total agent guidance you guys provided was down 50 bps. So obviously you’re going to need some sequential growth from here. I want to check on your level of confidence with the guidance, and then maybe secondly, just how impactful seasonality typically is. Do you feel like the past cadence of kind of seasonal growth, does that hold this year?
