Should a California Real Estate Agent Join a Team or Go Independent?

It depends on how much of the business you want to run yourself, and “independent” doesn’t mean what many agents assume. A California salesperson can only be paid through the broker they’re licensed under, so going fully independent means getting your own broker license. The real choice is among three paths: a team, solo under a broker, or your own brokerage.

This is the time of year agents start thinking about where they want to be next year. Here’s how I’d lay it out.

Can a California Agent Actually Go Independent?

Not as a salesperson. Under Business and Professions Code section 10137, a real estate salesperson can’t accept compensation for licensed activity from anyone other than the broker they’re licensed under. To truly work for yourself, you need your own broker license, which is a real step up.

The California Department of Real Estate lists the requirements for that license:

• Experience: a minimum of two years of full-time licensed salesperson experience within the last five years, or two years of unlicensed equivalent experience, or a four-year degree with a major or minor in real estate.
• Courses: eight statutorily required college-level courses. Continuing education offerings don’t count toward them.

You also take on the broker’s obligations. Section 10177 lists a failure to exercise reasonable supervision over your salespersons among the grounds for discipline. So if you have agents under you, their work is your responsibility. Check the DRE’s current requirements before you plan around any of this.

Team, Solo or Your Own Broker: How Do They Compare?

The three paths differ mostly in who supplies the business and who carries the cost. The legal rules set the outline: compensation runs through your responsible broker, and a team name is a brand, not a separate license, under section 10159.7. Everything else depends on the agreement you sign.

There’s no single right cell in that table. An agent with a deep sphere and a love of running things may do well on their own. An agent who wants higher-priced deals and doesn’t have those clients yet will often get there faster with a team.

What Do the Numbers Say About Teams?

Teams do more volume, but you have to divide it. NAR’s 2026 Member Profile reports that in 2025 Realtor teams generated a median sales volume of $17.5 million, against a median of $2.7 million for individual brokerage specialists. Teams typically had four members, and 54% had brokerage sales volumes of $10 million or more.

Here’s the part that’s easy to miss. Split evenly, $17.5 million across four people is about $4.4 million each. Teams aren’t split evenly in real life, and these are medians from different groups, so treat that as a rough comparison. Still, it’s a more honest one than $17.5 million versus $2.7 million.

Experience matters at least as much. The same report puts median gross income at $8,000 for Realtors with two years or less of experience, and $88,500 for those with 16 years or more. If you’re early in your career, what you learn and the deals you get to work on may be worth more to you than the split in your first couple of years.

What Should Be in Your Agreement?

Whichever path you choose under a broker, get the terms in writing, because California requires it. Under Title 10, section 2726 of the California Code of Regulations, every broker must have a written agreement with each salesperson, dated and signed, covering supervision of licensed activities, duties and compensation.

Two more rules are worth knowing before you sign:

• Independent contractor or employee. Section 10032 says a broker and salesperson may contract as either one for their relationship with each other. The obligations of the real estate law to the public apply regardless of the label, and tax treatment is governed by other statutes. Ask a tax professional what your own setup means for you.
• Splits run through the broker. Section 10137 allows licensees to agree to share compensation, as long as it’s paid through the responsible broker. That applies to a team leader’s split with their agents too.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice, so have your own advisor review anything you plan to sign.

When Does Each Path Make Sense?

The right path usually comes down to where your business comes from today. In 2025, half of the typical Realtor’s business came from repeat clients and referrals, according to NAR, 28% and 22% respectively. If that describes you, you may need less from a team than an agent who’s still building that base.

Some honest ways to sort it out:

• A team tends to fit if you want more leads than your sphere produces, want to work at a higher price point than your clients buy at today, or would rather sell than run an office.
• Solo under a broker tends to fit if your repeat and referral business already keeps you busy, and you’re happy doing your own marketing and transaction work.
• Your own broker license tends to fit if you meet the requirements, want to build a business, and are ready to take on supervision and overhead.

Team leaders have a version of this question too. Running a team means carrying costs and training people. Some leaders would rather keep the team and hand off the overhead, which is the setup we offer.

If higher price points are the reason you’re asking, our guide on how to break into luxury real estate in the East Bay goes deeper.

How Team Leaders Work With Rise Group

At Rise Group, we take on a lot of the overhead so team leaders can focus on selling. That includes the office, our listing and transaction coordinators’ pay, the Follow Up Boss CRM, and the website with agent pages. Team leaders partner with us on a commission split.

We’re also a Zillow Preferred team with mature zips, with million-dollar-plus leads from North Berkeley, Danville and Alamo, and Piedmont, plus leads from the Tri-Valley. Our onboarding staff takes a new agent from zero to 90 days ready, so a team leader doesn’t have to slow down to do it.

We’d rather you make the right decision than a fast one. If you’d like to compare notes, call Rise Group Real Estate at 925.255.7321 or send us a message and mention you’re an agent. Rise Group operates under Radius Agent Realty (Agentdesks Incorporated dba Radius), CA DRE #02051216.

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