A significant shift is happening in real estate. Increasingly, successful agents aren’t just chasing listings and growing their GCI – they’re thinking bigger. At the same time, established principals are looking ahead to the next chapter. For both groups, the same question is surfacing: what’s next?
Belle Property CEO Nick Boyd believes the industry is on the brink of a generational handover.
“Over the next five to ten years, we’re going to see more succession planning than we’ve ever seen,” he says.
“That’s just looking at the age demographics. There’s a huge amount of ownership that will be transferred – and that’s already starting to happen.”
But while the appetite for change is growing, execution is another matter.
According to Nick, the single biggest factor that will govern the pace and success of succession isn’t skill or even timing. It’s access to capital.
“Everyone talks about interest rates being the key stimulus, but I think that’s only one part of the equation,” he explains.
“The real driver is the availability of credit. When banks are lending freely, business transfers and acquisitions flow. When credit tightens, everything stagnates … and that includes leadership transitions.”
That’s why he urges business owners to start planning succession well in advance, not when they need it.
“The worst thing you can do is start when you’re desperate. It has to be a five- or ten-year strategy,” he says.
“The best succession plans I’ve seen are ones that start from within – growing the people already inside your business.”
This, he argues, marks a fundamental shift in mindset.
“Gone are the days of thinking, ‘How do I hire a productive agent at the lowest cost and build a strong business around them?’ That model is done. The future is about giving away your skill and knowledge to great individuals in your business, and developing them into the leaders who’ll eventually take it over.”
The link between succession and career progression is tight.
For a million-dollar agent, the next step isn’t just to maintain production, it’s to grow into a leadership role.
But without a clear path forward, those agents often feel stuck: “They start asking, ‘Can I do this on my own? Should I open my own business?’ And unless there’s a viable leadership or ownership pathway within the organisation, you’ll lose them.”
That said, not every top performer is cut out for leadership, and Nick doesn’t pretend otherwise.
“They’re actually kind of polar opposite traits,” he says.
“A high-performing sales agent has to be disciplined and obsessed with their craft. They need to know their market inside and out.”
Leadership, on the other hand, is less about personal mastery and more about emotional intelligence. “You need to know your people, what makes them tick, what they’re trying to achieve,” he says.
“It’s not just about selling the mission and hoping for buy-in. You have to align what they want with what the business needs. That’s when it works.”
And it only works, he adds, if the leader is willing to put themselves second – or even last.
“That’s the biggest obstacle I see when sales agents step into business ownership,” he says.
“As an agent, you’re moulded into having self-interest first. You win or lose based on your own performance. But leadership is about helping others win first, and only then does the business win.”
This shift isn’t just philosophical – it’s financial. “You’re usually paid last,” Nick says.
“It’s got to be realised through the company’s performance first. You take on the greatest amount of risk, and the greatest responsibility. But you also get the greatest reward — and for me, that’s seeing someone else succeed because of what you’ve built.”
For agents aspiring to make that leap, he advises starting with people, not strategy.
“Forget the business plan for a moment,” he says. “Ask yourself: what do I need to do to make sure the people around me trust me? Not whether I trust them, but whether they trust me. That’s the foundation.”
He admits this kind of trust can’t be faked and it doesn’t come with KPIs: “It’s not a checklist. It’s how you make people feel. And that’s often the hardest thing to define, but the most important.”
It’s also why some of the hardest decisions a business owner will face are people-related.
“One of the toughest experiences I’ve had is having to part ways with someone who’s a great person and has real skill, but the business needs something different,” he says. “You hire someone because you believe in them. So when it no longer fits, it’s gut-wrenching.”
For some leaders, loyalty will override performance. For others, performance will always come first.
Nick doesn’t suggest one is always right, but believes balance is key.
“If you only ever make performance-based decisions, you can lose the fabric of the business. But if you always prioritise loyalty, you risk holding the business back.”
Ultimately, he believes businesses that invest in people over time (and align that with long-term succession thinking), will be best placed to grow and thrive.
“If you’ve got highly productive people in your business that you’ve grown over years, you’ve built loyalty. Combine that with access to capital, and you’ve got a strong business and a solid succession plan.”
The path from agent to owner is not for everyone, but for those willing to take it, the opportunity is there.
What matters most, Nick says, is the ability to think long-term, build trust, and be willing to let others take centre stage.
“Succession doesn’t happen overnight. It’s something you build from within, and it takes years. But when it works, it’s one of the most rewarding parts of the whole journey.”
