In an Inman exclusive, the luxury CEO talked about the Compass-Anywhere merger, mortgage rates, and real estate consolidation. Serhant will be at Inman Connect next week.
Inman Connect
Invest in yourself, grow your business—real estate’s biggest moment is in New York!
About five-and-a-half years ago, celebrity broker Ryan Serhant launched his eponymous brokerage in Manhattan during the middle of a global pandemic. Since then, SERHANT. has come a long way — and just a few weeks ago, the firm entered its 15th state with its launch in Boston, Massachusetts.
Beyond its growing market presence, the luxury brokerage has expanded in other ways, including via tech tools like agent workflow platform S.MPLE, through media exposure via the Netflix series Owning Manhattan, and via key hires, like former Keller Williams president Josh Team.
But SERHANT. is far from done growing, and CEO Ryan Serhant told Inman the brokerage had plenty of exciting moves in store for 2026.
Serhant will also be speaking at Inman Connect New York next week. In advance of his appearance, he took some time to catch up with Inman. Here’s what he had to say, edited for length and clarity.
Inman: I saw SERHANT. hired a fintech vet, Greg Chan, as your new CTO recently and also moved into Boston. What other exciting goals do you have as a company in 2026?
Ryan Serhant | SERHANT. Studios
Serhant: The company is expanding very quickly. We’ll be opening in a lot of new markets this year while we continue to grow market share in the markets we’re in. Our model is pretty different from all of our competitors, so we’re really not for everybody. But I think the proof is now in the pudding, so to speak. So we’ll have a lot more markets that we open this year.
We’ll be opening new verticals within the company that we’ll talk about once we get there. Fun, exciting new hires as well. It’s been busy. It’s been a big start to the year. Massachusetts is a great state. I also grew up there — not saying that the Patriots are heading back to the Super Bowl because we’re opening there, but also not saying that’s not the reason why they won their game — but it’s really, really exciting.
SERHANT., in every market we’re in, has became kind of the go-to. Like, you’re either with Compass or you’re with us. Everything else has sort of faded into the distance, as far as we can tell. I think the industry is moving from brokerage as a place to work to brokerage as a product to use and amplify your current business. And I think we are building operating systems now more than just brokerages.
And SERHANT. is obviously a media company, it’s a tech company and a service company all in one as we work to create the greatest agent experience on the planet.
We’ll be interested to hear more about those new hires and verticals. As you just mentioned Compass, I’m curious, with the Compass and Anywhere merger closing earlier this year, what are your thoughts on that? Did anything about that deal surprise you?
I don’t think so. Anywhere was a holding company set up by a finance team to make money in the public markets. It was Cendant and it was Realogy, and it obviously became Anywhere later on. They had to refinance $500 million in debt last year that they were paying 10 percent on.
It was just an unsustainable model, so I think being acquired, at the end of the day, was probably the only option for Anywhere going forward, which is why you see so many mergers and acquisitions right now in this space. There’s mass consolidation, not necessarily because every company wants it, but because some companies obviously need it.
I think that Compass is making a platform play. They are in competition with Zillow, which is a very different business model than what we have over here. I think they are building an operating system for products, for inventory. I think we are successfully building an operating system for people. And when you empower the people, you empower the properties. And I think they also have $3.1 billion in debt now.
So it’s different. But, holistically, I think it’s awesome. I think having a major player in the space that is pro-agents that can lobby with some real weight against some of the things in the industry that there’s never been a singular player to push back on, I think, is really great. I don’t think there’s ever been a $10 billion market cap real estate brokerage in history, so it’s a great comp. I think their stock is going to double. And I think it’s super exciting as a brokerage owner myself. So all the power to them.
Great. So, as SERHANT. expands, are you thinking about doing any big acquisitions yourself?
We do acquire hires and have as we move into new markets. There are so many great brokerages and great agents around the country who do work in boutique spaces: They’re either boutique and they have a franchise flag with a timeline to it, or they have a great boutique brand that is hyperlocal. And one of the things SERHANT. provides as we go into national markets is that we partner with hyper-local brands and agents to give them singular, AI-native infrastructure in the back end, which changes how they operate, combined with global media influence.
The case studies we have of what the SERHANT. effect is from Paradise Valley, Arizona; to Henderson, Nevada; to Delray Beach, Florida; is pretty incredible. And I’m just excited to bring that reach that we have that no other brokerage could ever be able to afford to great agents around the country and to the benefit of their clients.
Transitioning to the broader market, how do you think 2026 will shape up for agents?
I’m obviously very focused on rates. I think real estate is a rates conversation, and it’s not a direct inventory or supply or quality conversation. Everything is dictated by rates. So, as rates go down, I would love to see 5 million trades this year instead of the 4.1 million that we’ve had roughly over the past three years. I think we’ve gotten to the breaking point of the lock-in effect that we’ve seen with increased rates since 2022.
And I’m really paying attention to — I haven’t really seen anyone write about this — but the Trump Gold and Trump Platinum Cards. If you look at the Trump Platinum Card for foreign nationals, it’s a $5 million ticket price. You get to have a residence, you get to work here, you get to be here for 270 days out of the year, and the country will not come after you for non-U.S. income, which is always the big issue.
But foreigners investing in property here and being here for extended stays, and the visa process, etc., if that goes through and you can open the country to people and companies who can write $5 million checks, what that will do to trophy luxury real estate … if you think prices are high now, we’re already getting calls from clients looking to lock up land grabs in Miami, Palm Beach, Wyoming, Montana, New York City, obviously, because the wealth on the sidelines in the United States is nothing compared to the global shadow money that will be coming into this country, for better or for worse. And I think that is a very high likelihood in 2026 that will really drive luxury markets.
Yeah, sounds true. I had heard things about the Trump Gold Card several months ago but not much about it more recently.
Well, I think it’s being blocked right now — I think that’s the slight issue. But if that goes through, then, you just wait. And what he’s trying to do, within a realm of reason, is instead of the U.S. paying everyone else money, everyone else should be paying us money. You want access, you want to buy property here, you want to set up business? Great. Pay us. There is a cost of entry, there is a ticket price, and it’s not far-fetched. And those homes being sold to people who can afford them create jobs. There is a trickle-down effect.
I also wanted to ask you a bit about Inman Connect New York next week, with the event quickly approaching. Do you have any tips for new attendees or even seasoned ones about how to make the most of the event?
Dress warm. This is the winteriest winter we’ve had in 10 years. It could be cold, could potentially snow. But take advantage of the city.
SERHANT. and Sell It are having an event on Feb. 3 in the evening. There are a lot of great opportunities to create collaborations. Go to Broadway, go to restaurants, move around the city. It’s an incredible, incredible environment right now. It’s fully open. It’s the year to create business and to create markets. So make sure you meet as many people as you can while you’re here. That’s why it’s called ‘Inman Connect,’ right? It’s not ‘Inman sit by yourself.’
Well put. Is there anything in particular that you’re looking forward to?
Again, I love meeting new people. I love meeting new people who come into the market, to the city, especially as we’re growing. Everyone comes here, so it’s awesome — it’s like football, it’s like a home game for us next week. It’s nice to play at the national level from home field advantage. So I’m just looking forward to a lot of great connections that every year end up spawning new ideas, new deal flow and new ways to make the industry better.
Get Inman’s Luxury Lens Newsletter delivered right to your inbox. A weekly deep dive into the biggest news in the world of high-end real estate delivered every Friday. Click here to subscribe.
Email Lillian Dickerson
Topics: Anywhere | Compass | Ryan Serhant Show Comments Hide Comments Sign up for Inman’s Morning Headlines What you need to know to start your day with all the latest industry developments Sign me up By submitting your email address, you agree to receive marketing emails from Inman. Success! Thank you for subscribing to Morning Headlines. Read Next
30 years of disruption: How Inman Connect became the front row seat to a changing industry
The world is an uncertain place. Mauricio Umansky is focused on growth and survival
Douglas Elliman CEO on Compass-Anywhere: 'From the outside, it looks like a mess'
Headed to Inman Connect New York? Don’t miss these sessions
More in Exclusive
Douglas Elliman CEO on Compass-Anywhere: 'From the outside, it looks like a mess'
Buyers are returning, sellers are 'increasingly realistic about pricing': Pam Liebman
Redfin's Kelman on listing access: 'You shouldn't have to know the secret handshake'
Washington to consider requiring all listings to be marketed publicly
Read next
Read Next
10 easy daily marketing moves that build your brand and business
30 years of disruption: How Inman Connect became the front row seat to a changing industry
Douglas Elliman CEO on Compass-Anywhere: 'From the outside, it looks like a mess'
Headed to Inman Connect New York? Don’t miss these sessions
