Live from eXpcon: New CEO, new launches and an interview with COO Wendy Forsythe. All the news from eXp Realty's big event in Salt Lake City October 12, 2026 Last week, Inman was live at eXpcon in Salt Lake City for all of the new product launches and big announcements from the growing cloud-based brokerage. Whether you were there on-site or just want to get caught up on all the news from eXp Realty's big event, here's a roundup. Inman Group want to make sure you don't miss a thing. To start with the big surprise of the event, Glenn Sanford announced that he would be stepping back from his CEO role at AGNT, Inc., eXp Realty's parent company, and elevating current eXp Realty CEO Leo Pareja to the top job. Taylor Anderson was on the floor and caught up with Pareja right after the announcement: Pareja wasn't the only C-suite exec talking to Inman. eXp Realty COO Wendy Forsythe discussed content marketing, messaging and the new tools eXp rolled out during the event. Nick Pipitone provided in-depth coverage of eXp's new slate of agent tools, starting with its "MCP First, AI of Choice" AI strategy, which allows agents to connect Claude, ChatGPT or whatever AI tool they already use directly to their eXp business data. eXp is still building its own AI platforms as well. "eXp is connecting agents to their preferred AI tools while also developing its own brokerage technology," an eXp spokesperson told Inman on Wednesday night. In addition to its AI announcement, eXp unveiled financing, seller and showing tools in response to Pareja's take on the current tough market. "We're heading into an even softer market, with rates creeping into the sevens," he said. "I said on CNBC a couple of days ago that it's not out of the realm of possibility Inman Group could touch an 8 percent handle on interest rates. I hope not, but it's possible. "We could also dip below 4 million transactions as a country, into the 3.8 million to 3.9 million range. The last time that happened was in 1995, with 80 million fewer Americans. So I'm excited to see our agents come to events to sharpen the sword, get better, spend time in breakouts on scripting, dialogues, and workflows, and figure out how best to serve buyers and sellers in this complicated market." The cloud-based brokerage will enter Switzerland, Abu Dhabi and expand its operations in Mauritius, Felix Bravo, eXp's managing director of international, announced on stage at the brokerage's conference in Salt Lake City. "Our agents will make connections around the world. They'll make introductions to us... but the most important thing is what group of agents we have found in that market [who] believe in the vision of eXp, who understand what our model can do and see that there's a need for it in their country or in their market," Bravo told Inman. "Based on that, we'll kind of just go with it."

eXp Realty announces plans to launch in Switzerland, as European expansion grows to 11 countries. LONDON, CITY OF LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, October 9, 2026 / EINPresswire.com / - eXp Realty (R) has today announced its plans to expand into Switzerland, marking the latest stage of its continued European growth, with international property industry veteran and 15-year Swiss resident Mehrdad Bonakdar, appointed as CEO of eXp Switzerland. eXp Realty to expand its European footprint eXp Realty first launched in Europe with its expansion into the UK in 2019, before expanding into a further nine European countries, with the most recent being Luxembourg in March of this year. Switzerland will be the next market to join its growing European footprint and the 11th European country where real estate agents can benefit from the eXp Realty platform. Globally, eXp Realty operates across Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Oceania. Strength of Swiss property market presents significant opportunity The announcement comes at a time when the Swiss property market continues to demonstrate sustained strength. The latest Swiss Federal Statistical Office Residential Property Price Index shows that residential property prices increased by 3.6% in the year to Q2 2026 and have climbed by 21.3% over the last five years. Financing conditions have also improved substantially compared with three years ago. Swiss National Bank data shows that between July 2023 and July 2026, rates on new one-year fixed mortgages fell from 2.96% to 1.47%, with two-year fixed rates falling from 2.97% to 1.54%, three-year rates from 2.96% to 1.64%, and five-year rates from 2.94% to 1.78%. There are also signs of positive momentum in the current market. The number of new mortgage loans increased by 3.8% between Q1 and Q2 2026, driven by a 7.6% quarterly increase in new mortgages for owner-occupied residential property. Experienced leadership to spearhead Swiss expansion Leading eXp Realty's expansion into Switzerland will be Mehrdad Bonakdar, who brings more than 34 years of international real estate experience. Bonakdar previously acquired a three-person boutique agency in Mallorca and developed it into KENSINGTON Finest Properties International AG, growing the business to more than 90 locations across five countries before selling the international group in 2023. His previous experience also includes leading Engel & Völkers' expansion across Dubai and the Middle East. Head of eXp UK and Europe, Adam Day, commented: "Switzerland expansion represents an exciting next step in eXp Realty's continued European expansion. It is a market that has demonstrated considerable long-term strength, whilst the improved financing environment and current momentum within the owner-occupier market provide a positive backdrop as we establish our presence. "Just as importantly, we have the right person to spearhead that expansion. Mehrdad has more than three decades of international real estate experience and has already demonstrated his ability to build and scale a real estate business across multiple markets. Combined with 15 years living in Switzerland, that experience gives us great confidence in his ability to establish and grow eXp in the Swiss market." CEO of eXp Switzerland, Mehrdad Bonakdar, commented: "Having spent much of my career building and scaling real estate businesses, I see enormous potential in what the eXp model can offer real estate professionals in Switzerland. "The combination of a cloud-based model, competitive commission structure and agent-centric technology provides an opportunity to address some of the structural challenges agents face around operational overhead, scalability and the cost of building their own brand. "After 15 years living in Switzerland, I am incredibly excited to be leading this next stage of eXp Realty's European expansion and to use the experience I have gained over the last 34 years to build something significant here." Data tables and sources New mortgage lending data sourced from the Swiss National Bank. Full data tables can be viewed online here. James Lockett ProperPR Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.