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Opendoor’s 2025 Agent Survey – and announcing Key Connections

Reading Time — 4 minutes

June 24, 2025

By Nicholas Boniakowski

Opendoor’s 2025 Agent Survey – and announcing Key Connections

Reading Time — 4 minutes

June 24, 2025

Ask any real estate agent and they’ll attest: the only constant in this industry is change

From industry shifts to market headwinds, the role of the agent is going through a major transformation. Agents are challenged to be more adaptable than ever to navigate a complex, unpredictable, and competitive market. In fact, 500 agents nationwide recently told us that home price affordability, economic uncertainty, and interest rates on mortgages have had the most negative impact on their business in recent years.

In the flurry of this change, one thing remains key: agents are the glue in the home buying and selling process. Their purview continues to expand beyond what they’ve traditionally been responsible for. In today’s landscape, agents are expected to be the whole package: a confidant, advisor, shoulder to lean on, and local expert. Here’s what they told us in our recent survey:

Agent sentiment check

Amid all this uncertainty, agents are feeling the squeeze. Agents listed feeling stressed and busy most often in the past year. The majority of agents (81%) are concerned their current income model will be unsustainable in five years, while more than half (58%) are defending their value more than they were a year ago.

The good news? 77% of real estate agents feel their voice is being heard amid all the changes in the industry, and 41% report feeling empowered in the last year. 

Many are finding new ways to expand their network, such as by producing online real estate content through newsletters, YouTube, and/or TikTok videos; through consulting, coaching, or speaking opportunities; or by offering staging and design services. With so much uncertainty, industry-wide and otherwise, agents constantly put in the work to stay ahead and top of mind.

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Working harder and smarter 

To navigate this demanding environment, agents are investing significant ‘sweat equity’ to continue growing and sustaining their business. The vast majority of agents (89%) feel they are working much harder to earn the same money they did prior to industry commission changes. Sometimes, that includes putting in hours of ‘invisible labor.’ More than half of agents have stayed up late or gotten up early to close a deal, 46% have broken a sweat to clean or improve a client’s home in the past year, and 44% have rescheduled or skipped a vacation to close a deal.

Agents know it’s crucial to put in time behind the scenes and that the effort to go the extra mile pays off in the long run. 

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Empowering Agents with New Tools: Introducing Key Connections

One of the toughest parts of being an agent? More than half (56%) say it’s finding clients—on top of keeping up with industry changes and managing expectations. Opendoor’s new offering, Key Connections, helps solve that by directly connecting select partner agents with high-intent sellers in their market. It’s the latest extension of Opendoor’s agent partnerships platform, Opendoor Key Agent.

Through Key Connections, partner agents are uniquely positioned to meet with sellers in person at their homes to present all selling options and help clients make the best decisions. And sellers who work with a local agent through Key Connections gain more personalized support, with greater clarity and confidence in choosing the best way to sell their home. 

The feeling is mutual: a strong majority (74%) of agents would accept a lower commission per sale if they could have a reliable stream of clients through a property technology company or platform like Opendoor.

In February 2025, Opendoor piloted Key Connections in 16 test markets and, following early positive signals, is now expanding the program to reach more sellers and strengthen its support for partner agents.

“We’re not just showing up with a listing presentation, we’re showing up with real solutions. In a world where sellers are craving certainty, speed, and flexibility, we get to deliver all three,” said Jackie Soto, agent and owner of eHomes, and Key Connections pilot program participant. “It builds trust, gives sellers confidence, and positions us as true advisors, not just agents. It’s the kind of tool that turns a maybe into a yes.” 

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Opendoor remains committed to empowering consumers and agents alike through its flexible, tech-enabled platform, and Key Connections is a significant step forward in that mission. To learn more about the Opendoor Key Agent platform and Key Connections, visit the landing page Opendoor.com/agents

Methodology

The Opendoor Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research among 500 representative Real Estate Agents across the U.S., between May 7th and May 16th, 2025, using an email invitation and an online survey.