Real estate leadership in 2025 driven by kindness and compassion

In the past year, the real estate industry has been shaken by lawsuits, shifting rates, and skeptical consumers. But, there’s one quality that’s quietly defining who thrives and who merely survives: kindness.

Sounds counterintuitive, right? In an industry built on deals and deadlines, kindness might seem like a luxury. But in today’s market, it’s becoming a power move.

The uncertainty agents are facing

Fear and fatigue have become common side effects of doing business in 2025. According to the RCLCO Real Estate Market Index, industry sentiment has slipped into the “stress zone” with an RMI of just 37, down nearly 30 points since late 2024. Persistent inflation, interest rate instability, and geopolitical uncertainty continue to create whiplash for professionals in nearly every corner of real estate.

Beyond the numbers, there’s a deeper crisis unfolding: emotional exhaustion. Clients feel it. Agents feel it. The weight of economic anxiety, combined with headlines about housing shortages, affordability gaps, and layoffs, has pushed many to the edge of burnout.

At the same time, need in local communities is growing. Feeding America’s “Map the Meal Gap 2025” report shows that child food insecurity has spiked in many counties to as high as 50%, and 13.5% of U.S. households, nearly 18 million, struggle to put food on the table.

This convergence of economic and emotional strain has created an unusual moment: one where the industry’s next competitive edge might not come from a marketing strategy or a lead-gen tool, but from human decency itself.

Why kindness is a hard-edge business strategy

When volatility hits, most companies double down on data. But data without humanity doesn’t move people to trust. It’s kindness — the way professionals treat clients, teams, and communities — that becomes the anchor.

Here’s why it matters:

• Kindness builds stability. Clients make better decisions when they feel safe and supported. In uncertain markets, a calm, compassionate agent is often the difference between hesitation and action.
• Kindness earns trust. In an era where consumers question commissions, transparency, and representation, kindness reinforces credibility. People don’t just hire professionals—they hire people who care.
• Kindness fuels connection. Agents who volunteer, give back and lead with empathy stay top-of-mind in ways marketing alone can’t replicate.
• Kindness multiplies impact. One small act, such as supporting a food drive, mentoring a new agent or helping a neighbor, creates ripple effects that elevate the entire profession.

What leading with kindness looks like

1. Be the calm in the chaos. When clients express fear or frustration, listen first. Education, empathy and patience are your best closing tools right now.
2. Make giving back part of your business model. Many brokerages are adopting cause-based initiatives this season. For example, Feeding America’s nationwide network converts every $1 into 10 meals. Campaigns like these remind clients and agents what community really means.
3. Recognize humanity over hustle. Encourage your teams to rest, recharge, and connect. Burned-out agents can’t build healthy businesses.
4. Celebrate good deeds as much as good deals. Whether it’s spotlighting an agent who volunteers or supporting local housing nonprofits, lead with stories that show heart, not just hustle.
5. Shift your definition of leadership. Today’s most influential brokers and executives are those who blend business acumen with empathy. That’s what keeps culture and production alive through the downturns.

Lessons from the industry’s lamplighters

In recent conversations on our Real Estate Unscripted podcast, several of the nation’s top brokerage leaders shared how compassion has become a cornerstone of their leadership. Hoby Hanna, CEO of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, spoke about the Howard Hanna Children’s Free Care Fund, a decades-long initiative that provides medical support for children who need life-saving treatments regardless of a family’s ability to pay.

Mike Pappas, CEO of The Keyes Company, discussed how their team has embraced causes like Dolphins Challenge Cancer and Move For Hunger, channeling the energy of their network into life-changing community impact. And Lennox Scott, Chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate, described how the John L. Scott Foundation continues to fund children’s hospitals and family support programs across the country.

Each of these leaders has built a company culture grounded in contribution, compassio and connection — proof that doing good and doing well are not opposites, but partners in sustainable success.

It’s a philosophy my own SMILE Squad team has wholeheartedly embraced as well. Inspired to help, we’ve partnered with Feeding America to help fund 100,000 meals through the holidays, joining a growing chorus of industry professionals who believe that leadership isn’t just measured in transactions—but in the difference we make in people’s lives.

What unites these leaders isn’t just success — it’s significance. Together, they’re redefining what it means to lead in real estate: to serve, to uplift, and to use business as a force for good.

Turning compassion into collective power

Across the country, real estate professionals are quietly rewriting the narrative of what it means to lead. They’re rallying around food drives, rebuilding trust in local markets, and using their platforms to steady nervous clients and lift communities that have been hit hardest.

In short, they’re proving that kindness isn’t weakness; it’s wisdom. It’s not the opposite of strength; it’s the source of it.

As the industry navigates the end of what has certainly been another year of change, perhaps the most powerful question any leader can ask is this:

“How can I use my platform to help people feel safe, seen, and supported?”

Because when agents and leaders show up with compassion, they don’t just close transactions—they close the gap between fear and hope. And that’s the kind of impact that never goes out of market.

Darryl Davis, CSP, has spoken to, trained, and coached more than 600,000 real estate professionals around the globe. He is a bestselling author for McGraw-Hill Publishing, and his book, How to Become a Power Agent in Real Estate, tops Amazon’s charts for most sold book to real estate agents.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of HousingWire’s editorial department and its owners.

To contact the editor responsible for this piece: [email protected]