The Real Brokerage is a already a top 10 company in terms of transaction volume and sides — and it continued its growth this week in two of the nation’s most populous states.
Miami-based Real on Tuesday announced the addition of Harvest Realty, an independent brokerage in Southern California with 550 agents. Led by the husband-and-wife team of John Zhang and Christine Li, Harvest specializes in serving the Chinese community in SoCal.
Zhang and Li founded the company in 2014 and have focused on growth in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Since its founding, Harvest has closed 5,210 transactions for $6.8 billion — including 1,627 sides for $2.4 billion in 2024 alone.
“Christine and John’s journey is the kind of story that inspires anyone chasing their version of the American Dream. After rock-solid careers of their own, they decided to combine their skills and their shared passion to help Chinese home buyers, sellers and investors navigate Southern California’s competitive real estate market,” Real President Sharran Srivatsaa said in a statement.
“They’ve set the gold standard for service to the Chinese community. Their story isn’t just about success — it’s about making a difference, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome this incredible duo and their entire team to the Real family.”
Harvest is affiliating with Real under the brokerage’s private-label program, allowing it to keep its own branding while taking advantage of Real’s resources and compensation programs. Real will also offer its virtual community platform to Harvest agents. The platform includes translations in more than 90 languages to optimize communications.
“Real provides the technology and programs that will help our agents increase their production and become more efficient, while also providing revenue share and stock options that tie their success to that of the company,” Li said in a statement. “However, what was most important was Real’s leadership. They are great leaders, and we are confident that the Real platform will allow us to continue to grow and serve our agents and clients.”
On Wednesday, Real also announced the addition of The Burgman Group, a three-agent team that serves Florida‘s Space Coast region. The team is led by Shane Burgman, who has averaged 50 home sales per year during his 10-year career, racking up more than $200 million in sales in the process.
Burgman began his real estate career in 2015 after 10 years with the U.S. Navy as a nuclear submarine missile technician. He credits his time in the Navy for enabling a successful transition to real estate. He will join Real’s military division to specialize in helping veterans, active-duty service members and their families.
“Shane’s unwavering honesty and relentless work ethic have earned him a reputation as one of the most trusted names in real estate and a leader among his peers,” Srivatsaa said. “I’m thrilled to welcome Shane and his team to Real and look forward to seeing how our platform helps them elevate their impact on clients while inspiring their peers.”
“I’ve been following Real for a while. I’m stoked about this new opportunity and thrilled to enhance my clients’ overall experience,“ Burgman said. “Real’s commission structure and revenue share provide upside potential that allows us to build long-term wealth, while the company’s technology platform is designed for teams like ours that are always looking to better serve clients. We couldn’t be more excited to make the move to Real.”
The additions of Harvest Realty and The Burgman Group bring Real’s total agent count to more than 24,000. According to 2023 data from RealTrends Verified, Real ranked as the sixth-largest brokerage in the country with 48,905 transaction sides and was the 10th largest by transaction volume at more than $21.2 billion.
