
Leo Pareja and James Dwiggins unpack the the fight for real estate’s future
From RealTrending by RealTrends
May 28, 2026 · 32 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the consolidation in the real estate industry and its implications for agents and consumers.
On this episode of RealTrending, host Tracey Velt sits down with Leo Pareja, CEO of eXp Realty and James Dwiggins, co-CEO of NextHome, to unpack the growing wave of consolidation across the real estate industry and what it means for agents, consumers and the future of listing data. Pareja compares today’s real estate landscape to the airline industry’s consolidation era, arguing that fragmented industries eventually shrink into a handful of dominant players. But unlike acquisitions driven purely by “synergy” and cost-cutting, he says the eXp and NextHome alignment was built around philosophical fit, shared views on consumer transparency and a belief that agents still need open access to listing distribution. The conversation quickly turns to private listings and the growing debate around listing control. Dwiggins strongly criticizes private listing strategies, warning they could damage consumer trust, create more litigation and ultimately fracture the MLS system into a European-style marketplace where buyers and agents must search multiple disconnected platforms just to find inventory. Both leaders argue that broad listing exposure remains the best path for sellers and that…
People in this episode
Host: Tracey Velt
Guests: Leo Pareja, James Dwiggins
Topics covered
- real estate consolidation
- listing data
- consumer transparency
- private listings
- AI in home search
- MLS system
Keywords
- real estate
- consolidation
- listing control
- AI
- consumer trust
- MLS
- home search
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: eXp Realty, NextHome, Google, HouseCanary, ComeHome
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