Seattle Agent magazine spoke with panelists from the upcoming Accelerate Summit to ask one very important question:
What is the biggest shift shaping success for top-producing brokers today, and how are you adapting to it?
Here’s how some of Seattle’s top producers responded:
Tere Foster, Principal and Managing Broker of Team Foster, Compass
The biggest shift by far is AI. Top agents are incorporating it in a variety of ways — from improving team efficiencies and operations to preparing for listing appointments to marketing content and more. We are loving the systems we have implemented and our clients are responding in such a positive way. Our advice to the agent community is embrace these tools as much as possible, and quickly, so you are positioned well with your market area and clientele.
Jay Kipp, Founding Director and Managing Broker, Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty
The biggest shift I see shaping success right now is that clients are no longer hiring access — they’re hiring judgment.
Information is everywhere. AI can generate pricing ranges. Consumers can track listings in real time. What clients don’t have is context. They don’t know how to weigh uncertainty against strategy. They don’t know whether a price adjustment is proactive positioning or reactive signaling. They don’t know how to interpret what’s happening beneath the surface. That’s where top producers separate themselves.
The role of the average agent is shrinking. If all you bring is access to the MLS and a marketing template, you’re vulnerable. If you bring perspective, conviction and the ability to guide someone through complexity without escalating emotion, you become indispensable.
For me, adapting has meant leaning further into preparation and structure. With listings, I work to define what the market conversation is going to be before we go live and everyone else starts having it. I pressure-test pricing. I set expectations early so that when negotiation intensity rises, we’re not surprised by it.
Success right now isn’t about being louder. It’s about being steady. Clients are looking for someone who can interpret, not react — and move decisively when others hesitate.
Max Rombakh, Managing Broker, Windermere Real Estate – Yarrow Bay
Hyperlocal. My business is concentrated on the Eastside, with a hyperlocal emphasis on Kirkland. That concentration allows for true micro-market intelligence — not just general stats, but street-level awareness of buyer behavior, absorption, pricing sensitivity and upcoming inventory. When you operate within a defined geography long enough and at meaningful volume, patterns become clearer and decision making becomes sharper.
Momentum. Activity fuels more activity. Listings generate exposure. Exposure builds trust. Trust converts to opportunity. When the platform is structured properly, business has a way of compounding on itself.
Structure. As volume has increased, we’ve been deliberate about how we grow. Scaling without structure risks eroding the client experience. We’ve expanded our team to support the volume while protecting service standards, communication and strategic oversight. The objective is not simply to do more transactions. It is to maintain precision, consistency and attention at a higher level of output.
Michele Schuler, Managing Broker, Real Residential
The biggest shift shaping success today is the growing demand for a truly human, highly intentional experience. There’s more technology, data and access to information than ever before. While that has created efficiency, it has also created overwhelm. Clients don’t need more information. They need clarity, judgment and someone they trust to help them navigate very personal, high-stakes decisions.
In today’s market, especially at the luxury level, people are not simply hiring an agent to sell a home. They are choosing a strategic partner to guide them through life transitions — whether that’s a relocation, a major financial decision or a shift in lifestyle. These moments are emotional. They require discretion, empathy and perspective. The agents who are succeeding are those who bring both sophistication and emotional intelligence to the process.
At the same time, buyers have become far more design-aware and emotionally driven. They respond to architecture, storytelling and authenticity. A formulaic marketing plan no longer resonates. The most effective approach is thoughtful and curated, presenting each home as a lifestyle and creating a sense of connection and aspiration.
My response has been to lean even more deeply into relationships and intentionality. I’ve built a boutique, service-driven model that combines high-touch guidance with elevated, design-forward marketing. We absolutely leverage technology and AI to expand reach, refine targeting and create efficiency. But those tools are only valuable when they enhance the human experience. They allow us to spend more time listening, advising and helping clients make confident, informed decisions.
Ultimately, in a world that feels increasingly automated, people are craving real connection. The future of this business belongs to professionals who can combine strategy, creativity and data with empathy, judgment and care. That balance is what builds lasting relationships — and it’s what defines true success today.