Seattle isn’t just a unique market, it’s a boutique market, in every sense of the word: specialized, compact and, as buyers will tell you, expensive. So, it’s perhaps no surprise that several boutique brokerages are thriving in the Pacific Northwest.

Two local, independent leaders opened up to Seattle Agent about the path they’re forging in this competitive real estate landscape.

Todd Shively, managing partner, designated broker, Ensemble

Unlike most brokerages, even independent ones, Ensemble is a not-for-profit, broker-led firm: a co-op, essentially, and the first of its kind in Seattle. Member brokers pay annual dues, which go directly to staffing and other services, and they meet bi-monthly as a board to vote on additional decisions.

“At most brokerages, no matter the scale, the point is to bring in revenue to cover expenses and to generate as much profit as possible,” explains Todd Shively, managing partner and designated broker at Ensemble. “The challenge with that is that some level of that revenue disappears into shareholders, ownership tiers and middle-management. Whereas [at Ensemble], the leftover money just goes into savings for the firm.”

Shively founded Ensemble in the spring of 2023. Within its framework, there are (currently 12) member brokers who can sponsor up to two additional brokers each. “Every member broker is ultimately a partial owner,” says Shively, and the member-to-broker ratio remains high.

Before arriving at this unusual model, Shively spent years at Coldwell Banker Bain, becoming a top producer, team leader and, eventually principal managing broker of their Capitol Hill office. But, he says, “I got to this place where I realized that in order to have the greatest impact on my partners, I needed a lot more autonomy.”

Though he acknowledges the scaled benefits of major brokerages — advertising, market exposure and simply being a household name — he felt the benefits should apply to customers more directly. “A big brokerage moves like a freighter and a little brokerage moves like a speedboat,” Shively says. Thanks to that agility, the brokers at Ensemble are not running parallel businesses; they’re running an integrated business, he said.

For Shively, that integration shines through in the company culture. “We’re able to build a much stronger culture because the people here are more invested in relationships with each other and supporting each other’s business … Nobody is in a position say no to something because it might benefit them financially.” When everyone has a direct stake in the company, collaboration flourishes.

Currently, Ensemble has no plans for serious expansion — the opposite of what most owners would tell you about their company. Rather, with one office in the University District, the company is staying intentionally small. “Getting bigger for the sake of bigger works against the foundational principles of the company,” admits Shively. “But we don’t want to be big; we want to be small and close and help others open similar brokerages.”

Being small can be tough, though. “Most small brokerages are too small to be good,” Shively says. “They can’t afford to have owners or managers that don’t also sell real estate in competition with [other brokers]. Most small brokerages can’t afford a high level of vendors.” But that’s where the membership dues for Ensemble — $50,000 per year — come in.

“We really work to find the best of what’s available and provide it for brokers because we actually charge enough,” Shively says, emphasizing that there are no fees (transaction or technology or marketing or otherwise) at Ensemble. “It’s like being all inclusive as opposed to à la carte.”

Within that inclusivity, however, there’s “dramatically high” levels of differentiation. “By ‘boutique,’ I don’t just mean small. I mean specialized.” Shively says the term is somewhat “abused in our marketplace.” But, for him, it denotes a level of differentiation that’s distinct from more general brands.

“I have great relationships with the other boutique owners because we’re all so different that we know whether we’re the right match for people, which allows us to be more collaborative,” Shively says.

Nick Glant, partner, founder, Real Residential

Another boutique brokerage in the Puget Sound region is Real Residential, established by Nick Glant as the second iteration of his independent real estate mission.

First, Glant founded NWG Real Estate in 2007, which grew to two offices before COMPASS acquired the firm in 2018. In fact, NWG Real Estate was the national brand’s launch partner in the state of Washington.

“We had a good experience overall at COMPASS for just over four years, but deep down, in our DNA, we wanted to return to independence,” Glant said.

So, he opened Real Residential in late 2022. Today, it includes two offices, in Seattle and in Bellevue, and 32 total employees (24 of them brokers). Most of the principles and producing team members are longtime members of the previous company. “There’s lots of continuity,” Glant said. “We’re strong believers in collaborative culture, internally, to drive external client experience.”

Comparing that to their experience within a large, national brand, Glant said it was hard to keep that cultural consistency, for both team members and clients. “Fundamentally, large brokerages spend on recruitment; the model is the more productive brokers you have, the better the company does … That was probably the biggest catalyst for going back to independence. We didn’t want to market the brand itself.”

Rather, said Glant, “Our philosophy is to spend our dollars on the client.”

At Real Residential, that means up-front dollars are spent preparing clients’ homes for market and programming around what clients might need once they’re in a home, through partner relationships with contractors. Additionally, Real Residential spends on community events for clients to connect with one another. “This is a huge value-add for clients who are new to the area, plus it showcases benefits of the neighborhood,” Glant said.

Internally, Real Residential aims for market expertise in all product categories. This also drives collaboration among brokers, as opposed to competition. “If a client of mine is looking somewhere I’m not as familiar with, we have the right person to take care of them; most clients have at least two brokers working on their behalf,” Glant said. “[While many] individual brokers go all over the map and try to be an expert everywhere, we believe you should have a nuanced understanding of the area you’re working in.”

To Glant, the word “boutique” does not necessary imply “small.” He says a boutique brand is “known … it’s limited and special.” His firm is selective in its clientele because it’s not trying to dominate market share. “Were trying to dominate in repeat business. When you’re not focused on hypergrowth in personnel, you can focus on retention of clients.”

So, like Ensemble, Real Residential is not focused on expanding its footprint within its core market. “We’re trying to elevate the experience for our core market,” Glant said.

Although, he added that opening outside of Washington in the next five years is a strong possibility. “We’re getting approached by brokerages [out of state], and they’re trying to replicate our model … and we’re open to those discussions.”