For independent agents moving to Real Brokerage
Why Would I Pick Bob Martin as My Sponsor at Real?
Updated
Bottom line: At Real, you name one sponsor when you join, and the choice is permanent. The sponsor is the person you can call. That is the job. This page is what I have done, how I work, and how to decide, so you can judge whether I am the right call for you.
What is a sponsor at Real, and what is one not?
A sponsor at Real is not your broker and not your boss. Real handles compliance, contracts, and payouts. Your sponsor is the person who has already made the mistakes you are about to make and picks up the phone.
You choose once. Real does not allow sponsor changes after you join. So this is worth fifteen minutes of thought and a call.
What has Bob Martin built?
Built the Houston Properties Team with my wife Paige, starting in 2009. More than $2 billion of Houston residential real estate closed and 3,000+ families served (Houston Properties Team records, October 2026).
#1 Houston large team by volume, $169.45M, RealTrends Verified 2026, on 245 sides.
4.97 out of 5 on 565 HAR client surveys (HAR team ratings page, September 2026). 5.0 on 1,216 Google reviews (reviewhpt.com, September 2026).
Houston Properties Team agents have closed alongside 472 agents from other brokerages (Houston Properties Team agent attraction records, September 2026).
Before real estate: co-founded and ran Internet REIT, raised more than $125 million from institutional investors, grew it to more than $40 million in revenue and 200 acquisitions (2004 to 2008). Before that, venture capital at Advent International and e-commerce at Trilogy (LinkedIn, September 2026).
Harvard University.
Founding partner of Real Edge Network, a community of Real team leaders, broker owners and agents whose members and partners represent more than $1.5 billion in annual production (Real Edge Network, September 2026).
How does Bob work with the people he sponsors?
I run a team every day. I am not a full-time recruiter, and I do not want to be. What I know is how to build a business that runs on systems instead of on the owner, and how to use AI tools to do it with fewer people. That is what I talk about with the people who call me: your listing process, your follow-up, your hiring, your numbers.
I will tell you when I think you are wrong. I would rather lose a sponsorship than watch someone make an expensive mistake quietly.
How should you decide, whoever you pick?
Ask any sponsor you are considering these five questions. Then compare the answers.
What will Bob not do?
I will not promise you anything for naming me as your sponsor. Real's rules do not allow it, and I would not want you to choose a sponsor on a promise anyway. What you get is what you can see on this page and check for yourself.
Step by step
Which five questions should you ask any sponsor?
- 01
Are you still selling, and how much?
Yes. Our team closed 245 sides in the RealTrends 2026 count. (You want someone who still does the job.)
- 02
How many people do you sponsor, and how many of them can I call?
Ask me for names and I will give you three.
- 03
When I call, who answers?
I do, or Paige does.
- 04
What have you built that I can use on day one?
The systems on this site and at realedgenetwork.com.
- 05
What did you get wrong in the last year?
I will tell you on the call.
From this library
What has Houston Properties Team written about this?
Questions & answers
What do Houston agents ask about sponsorship?
Does it matter who sponsors you at Real Brokerage?
Yes, though not for the reason most agents expect. Your split and your cap at Real Brokerage are the same whoever you name, so sponsorship costs a Houston agent nothing. What changes is who answers the phone in your first year. Houston Properties Team sponsors agents at Real Brokerage, and so do hundreds of other teams.
So the decision is about people rather than about price. Ask every sponsor you are considering the same question and compare what comes back: what will you actually do for me in the first 90 days? Ask for two names of agents they sponsored this year and call both. Ask who reviews a contract when the person in front of you is unavailable. A sponsor who cannot answer those in a sentence each has told you something useful, and it costs nothing to find out.
How do you choose a Real Brokerage sponsor?
On evidence rather than on the pitch. The sponsor you name is recorded when you join Real Brokerage, so a Houston agent should treat the choice as hiring rather than as accepting a favor. Houston Properties Team suggests three checks: ask two sponsors the same question, call the agents they already sponsor, and get the answers in writing.
The pitch is the least informative part of the process, because every sponsor has one. The answer to a specific question about a file you are working on now is different, and the difference is visible in a paragraph. Agents who already named somebody are usually candid about what their first ninety days actually contained, which is the period everybody promises and few describe. Ask about that period by name.