How a $100M Omaha Real Estate Defection Signals a Tech-Driven Future

OMAHA, NE – November 11, 2026 – In the intricate value chain of residential real estate, the balance of power is quietly, yet decisively, shifting from legacy brick-and-mortar institutions to agile, technology-driven platforms. This structural realignment was brought into sharp relief today as Troy Benes and the Elite Nebraska Real Estate Team officially departed Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Ambassador Real Estate to join cloud-based brokerage Epique Realty.

The move, effective immediately, is more than a localized personnel shift. For the past 15 years, the Elite Nebraska team has averaged approximately $100 million in annual sales volume. Comprising roughly 20 agents, the group recently ranked No. 2 in Nebraska and No. 2 in Omaha by both sales volume and transaction sides in RealTrends’ Verified rankings. They have also consistently placed within the Top 10 nationally across the vast Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices network.

When a dominant, high-producing regional team abandons a prestigious legacy brand for a three-year-old cloud brokerage, it demands a forensic look at the underlying economics driving the decision. The defection highlights a broader industry trend: the relentless migration of top producers toward low-fee, high-split models subsidized by artificial intelligence and automated workflows.

Legacy vs. Cloud: Rewriting Brokerage Economics

To understand why a team with over 2,000 historical sales and a $423,000 average price point changes its flag, one must look at the margin pressures facing modern real estate professionals. Traditional brokerages have historically relied on substantial franchise fees, desk fees, and higher commission splits to maintain their physical infrastructure and corporate overhead.

Epique Realty, led by CEO Joshua Miller, operates on a fundamentally different economic chassis. The company utilizes an 85/15 commission split, allowing agents to keep the lion's share of their earnings. More critically for a high-volume operation like the Elite Nebraska team, Epique employs a declining annual cap model. While a standard agent's cap starts at $15,000 and reduces annually, "Power Teams"—those closing at least $40 million in volume or 140 transactions—enjoy a drastically reduced cap of just $5,000.

Coupled with the elimination of franchise fees, free transaction coordination, and equity opportunities through stock awards, the financial incentives for high-producing teams to migrate are overwhelming.

"Troy has built a team that Omaha buyers and sellers have trusted for years, and he did it by investing in his agents," said Ryan Harper, Epique Realty's Colorado State Leader. "Epique gives a team leader like Troy the tools and the economics to keep doing that at a bigger scale."

By removing the friction of legacy overhead, cloud brokerages are effectively reallocating capital directly back into the team leader's pocket, allowing them to reinvest in lead generation, agent retention, and market expansion.

A Seismic Shakeup in the Omaha Market

For Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Ambassador Real Estate, the loss of the Elite Nebraska team is a significant blow to its regional market dominance. Over the past five years alone, Troy Benes has personally been involved in 455 seller-side transactions totaling over $148 million in volume, alongside nearly $30 million in buyer-side deals.

Benes, who earned his real estate license in August 2005 while studying at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, has spent 21 years building a formidable footprint across Omaha, Elkhorn, Fremont, Bennington, and surrounding communities. His team's departure is emblematic of the vulnerabilities facing traditional incumbents. Industry analysts have noted that sales volume at traditional brokerages has struggled to keep pace with the overall increase in average home prices over the last six years, reflecting a steady bleed of market share to cloud-based competitors.

"We’re so excited to bring our team to Epique Realty! We are all about growth, opportunity, and giving our agents the best tools to succeed. We can’t wait for this next chapter and all that’s ahead! " said Benes.

The local Omaha market will now serve as a real-time case study in whether brand loyalty lies with the corporate brokerage shield or with the individual agent team. Given the Elite Nebraska team's deep community ties and historical performance, early indicators suggest the latter.

AI as the New Margin Protector

The backdrop to this migration is the profound regulatory shift triggered by the 2024 National Association of REALTORS® settlement. With buyer agent commissions no longer displayed on MLS listings and signed buyer agency agreements now mandatory in most markets, compensation is subject to explicit, rigorous negotiation. In an environment where the average total U.S. commission hovers between 5.46% and 5.70%, agents are under immense pressure to articulate their value while simultaneously cutting operational costs.

This is where Epique Realty’s positioning as the industry's first "AI Certified Brokerage" transitions from marketing speak to a tangible strategic advantage. Founded in 2021, the brokerage provides its agents with a suite of AI-powered tools, including the Epique.ai platform for content creation and marketing, as well as the Lofty CRM equipped with an AI assistant.

For a 20-agent team processing hundreds of transactions annually, artificial intelligence serves as a critical margin protector. By automating routine administrative tasks, client follow-ups, and marketing collateral generation, teams can handle a higher volume of transactions without a proportional increase in administrative headcount. In the post-settlement landscape, the ability to leverage technology to maintain profitability despite potential commission compression is not just an advantage; it is a necessity for survival.

Borderless Ambitions and the Future of the Mega-Team

Perhaps the most revealing detail of the Elite Nebraska team's transition is the strategic positioning of its co-leader. Kristy Benes, who helps run the team alongside her husband, holds an active real estate license in Arizona.

Within the framework of a traditional franchise brokerage, expanding a team across state lines often involves navigating a labyrinth of disparate franchise owners, varying fee structures, and redundant operational systems. Cloud-based brokerages inherently dismantle these geographic barriers.

Epique Realty’s rapid expansion to over 4,000 agents across all 50 U.S. states and Canada—amassing over $7 billion in sales volume across 23,000 transactions in 2025—provides a seamless, unified platform for multi-state growth. The Elite Nebraska team is no longer tethered to the Midwest. By plugging into a borderless cloud infrastructure, they are positioned to execute a multi-regional expansion strategy, leveraging the same centralized transaction coordination, AI tools, and economic model in Maricopa County, Arizona, as they do in Douglas County, Nebraska.

The departure of the Elite Nebraska Real Estate Team from a legacy giant to a cloud-native disruptor is a clear indicator of where the industry is heading. As top producers increasingly view their brokerages not as physical destinations, but as digital operating systems designed to maximize their margins and scale their operations, the traditional real estate value chain will continue to fracture and reform. For the agents and teams willing to embrace this technological shift, the opportunities for unprecedented growth and market capture have never been more apparent.