I am not supposed to switch. Twenty-eight years in, you are supposed to be done moving. I moved anyway.
I have been licensed since 1998. Before that I spent 20 years with the Los Angeles Police Department. I sell homes in the Santa Clarita Valley, and I represent sellers. I have seen a lot of brokerages from the inside, not from a brochure.
Here is the short list. I started at Coldwell Banker. I spent about 20 years at RE/MAX. I had time at eXp Realty, at Compass, and at Realty ONE Group. Each one taught me something. None of them was a mistake. But in February 2026, I went all in with Sync Brokerage.
I want to be clear about what this is. I do not onboard anyone. I do not recruit. I am not your sponsor. I am a guy who switched after 28 years and decided to write down exactly why, using the same seven-factor scorecard I tell every agent to use. You can take it or leave it.
The seven factors, scored honestly
I built this list across all six brokerages, the hard way. Total cost. Technology. Marketing. Leads. Training. Culture. Contract. I ran Sync through every one of them before I signed. Here is how it scored, and where it did not.
1. Total cost
I have paid every kind of fee a brokerage can charge. Desk fees. Tech fees. Transaction fees. The "optional" ones you actually need. At some stops the headline split looked great and the bank statement told a different story by December.
Sync was straight with me on the math. I ran my real deal count, not a fantasy number, and the take-home held up. This was not the loudest reason I moved. But it did not lose, and at a lot of brokerages it quietly does.
2. Technology, and the AI direction
This is the one that actually moved me. I have lived inside ten-login stacks where the CRM does not talk to the marketing and the marketing does not talk to the transaction file. I have paid for each piece separately and stitched it together myself at night.
Sync is building toward one system, and it is leaning into AI instead of pretending the last few years did not happen. I spend a lot of my time on AI and on how it changes this business. I did not want a brokerage that would be dragged into it kicking. I wanted one already walking that direction. That is where Sync separated from the rest.
3. Marketing support
I sell sellers. My listings have to be marketed, and my name has to stay my name. I have spent 28 years building "Connor with Honor." I am not going to disappear into a logo for anyone.
Sync does the production lifting and still lets the agent keep their own brand on top. That is the setup I always wanted and rarely got. It scored well here. Not perfect, nothing is, but well.
4. Leads
"We will give you leads" is the most abused sentence in this industry. I have heard it at almost every stop. I stopped believing the brochure version a long time ago.
Here is where I will be honest. I did not move to Sync for a pile of portal leads, and I would tell you not to either. What earns is the database you already own, your past clients and your sphere, and the tools that help you actually work it. Sync helps me mine what I have. That matters more to me than any cold lead promise.
5. Training
I am 28 years in. I do not need a class to feel busy. I have sat through full training calendars that produced nothing but attendance.
So this factor weighed less for me personally than it would for a newer agent. That is the honest read. For someone starting out, I would push hard on this one and go ask a recent joiner whether the training actually produced listings. For me, it was not the deciding row.
6. Culture and broker access
This one I felt on day one. The real question with any brokerage is simple. Can you get the broker on the phone when it matters.
At Sync I can reach Andres Hoyos, the broker. Not a layer. Not a portal ticket. The actual broker. After 20 years in a department where the chain of command was the whole job, I know the difference between leadership you can reach and leadership you cannot. Sync scored high here, and it counted.
7. The contract
I read the independent contractor agreement at the door, not on the way out. I always do now. I have learned to look for clawbacks, for how pending deals pay after your last day, for who owns your files and your database.
Sync read clean. The brokerage you can leave without a trap is the one worth joining, because it tells you they plan to keep you by being good. That is the kind of agreement I want to sign at this stage of my career.
How it added up
No brokerage swept all seven. Sync did not. But when I scored it honestly, the total was the highest I had put on a page in a long time, and the two rows that decided it were technology and broker access. The AI direction told me where this business is going. The access to Andres told me I would not be alone getting there.
That is the whole story. Twenty-eight years, six brokerages, one honest scorecard, and a move I made in February 2026 with my eyes open.
The short version
I switched after 28 years because Sync won on the two things I care most about now: where the technology is headed, and whether I can reach the broker. If you want the longer version of the why, I put more of it at sync.connorwithhonor.com.
And if you want to know whether Sync fits you, do not take my word for it. Talk to the broker. Andres Hoyos will walk you through your own seven. I do not onboard anyone. I am just happy to share the why.
Frequently asked questions
Why did Connor MacIvor switch to Sync Brokerage?
After 28 years and six brokerages, I ran Sync through the same seven factors I tell every agent to use. It won on the AI and technology direction and on real broker access, so I went all in in February 2026.
What brokerages was Connor with before Sync?
Coldwell Banker, about 20 years at RE/MAX, then time with eXp Realty, Compass, and Realty ONE Group, before moving to Sync in February 2026.
Does Connor onboard agents to Sync?
No. I do not onboard anyone and I do not recruit. I share why I moved. The broker, Andres Hoyos, is the one who walks you through whether Sync fits you.
Where can I read more about why Connor moved?
There is more on the move at sync.connorwithhonor.com, and Andres can answer the rest directly at 818-614-4380.