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As big real estate companies continue to vie for top talent, virtual brokerage eXp Realty has announced that it scooped up a top-performing RE/MAX agent and his team in Canada.

In total, Calgary-based Justin Havre brings with him to eXp the 60-agent eponymous Justin Havre Real Estate Team, as well as 18 support staff. A statement from eXp notes that Havre and his team have done $4 billion in sales volume since 2016, and were the top Canadian RE/MAX team for five years. At eXp, the team will occupy a 10,000-square-foot office space in Calgary’s Quarry Park.

Justin Havre

The statement further describes Havre’s move as “a significant milestone” for eXp, with Havre himself adding that he chose the brokerage because it is a “disruptor that heralds a bright future for the real estate industry.”

“Its revenue-share cloud-based model, stock rewards, tech superiority and opportunities for agent entrepreneurship align with my vision of real estate for the post-COVID digital world,” Havre added in the statement.

Havre also said he decided to join eXp after discussions with Ibrahim Hussein, who previously worked at Keller Williams before making a move to eXp himself. The two explored different business models and numbers together, which Havre said in the statement was “an eye-opener.”

“I admit I was a skeptic at first, but he made me a believer,” Havre continued. “EXp is a performance-based brokerage and an environment where agents are focused on production.”

Havre and his team come to eXp at a time of intense competition for top talent. Though companies — eXp, as well as others such as Compass — have long managed to grow quickly, the recent slowdown of the housing market has put stress on agent head counts. That has resulted in shrinking membership at NAR, as well as a migration away from some big-name legacy brokerages.

Against that backdrop, companies such as eXp have lately been fighting to recruit not just more people, but also top performers who have a proven track record of closing deals even in an up-and-down market. For instance, aside from Havre, eXp recently announced that it recruited a high-performing indie brokerage in New England, as well as a top-producing team in Las Vegas.

In Havre’s case, he ultimately said in the statement that his “choice to join eXp Realty is rooted in our commitment to excel in real estate.”

Email Jim Dalrymple II