A Recap of Real Estate’s Legendary Learning and Networking Conference
Focus was the driving force behind this year’s Keller Williams Family Reunion. Attendees descended on the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas powered up and ready to optimize their time learning from the most successful agents, leaders, experts, and coaches in real estate. FR25 delivered – and then some.
In 2020, Las Vegas officially changed its slogan to “What Happens in Vegas, Only Happens Here.” That’s true for Family Reunion, too. While this year was the first FR for many, others have made it a recurring, non-negotiable investment in their professional development. The blend of new and familiar faces makes for a constant stream of dynamic discussions and high-energy relationship-building that only happens in person.
But those who couldn’t make it IRL weren’t left out of the learning. The FR25 Digital Experience offered a curated livestream of select sessions throughout the week. And while this year’s event is behind us, there’s still a way to catch content you may have missed or want to revisit. FR25 Unlocked offers free access to highlights, key insights, and expert discussions, including Gary Keller’s Vision Speech and 10 BOLD Truths, The ONE Thing With Jay Papasan, rapid-fire coaching sessions with Cody Gibson, Mega Agent panels, and so much more.
Bookmark FR25 Unlocked, then read on for exclusive coverage of Jamie Kern Lima’s keynote, session takeaways, and a recap of real estate’s now-legendary learning and networking conference.
Health, Wealth, and Mindset: Big-Picture Thinking at CEO Summit
On Monday, the sold-out CEO Summit set the stage for the week ahead. The event opened with Gary Keller, Jay Papasan, and Jason Abrams discussing the importance of getting clear on your purpose – and purposefully feeding your brain.
What followed was just that. Five remarkable keynote speakers – marketing guru Jay Baer, Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe, KW’s own Julia Lashay Israel, Stanford professor Chip Heath, and YouTube expert Sean Cannell – covered big-picture topics from organizational behavior and video marketing to diversity, brand differentiation, and resilience. Charlotte Savoy, operating principal and agent with the KW® Collective, was attending her 18th Family Reunion. She described CEO Summit as the perfect springboard for FR. “We’re not actually talking about real estate,” Charlotte explained. “We’re talking about health and wealth and mindset. The speakers that they bring into that room are a game changer – and a great start to the week.”
Booth-Busting Activations: An Interactive Exhibit Hall
The Exhibit Hall came alive when the doors opened for the official FR25 Welcome Party on Monday evening. In addition to LABS live demos and bite-size educational sessions at the KWU Amphitheater, the hall was host to vendor booths, a prize-filled scavenger hunt, and professional-grade selfie studios. Those who dropped by the KW Listening Lounge could hear how KW has changed lives and share their own stories, while the Red Label store was the place to stock up on exclusive FR25 merch. Sponsored pop-up coffee bars and mini-markets stationed throughout the hall made it easy to fuel up and not miss a moment.
While networking events kept the party going after hours, our money was on an early bedtime to be ready and rested for Opening Ceremonies and Gary’s Vision Speech on Tuesday morning.
The State of the Industry: Gary Keller’s 2025 Real Estate Industry Forecast
Paired with the opening ceremonies that recognize the 55+ regions that make up Keller Williams Worldwide, Gary’s Vision Speech is one of the most anticipated sessions at FR. In his signature no-nonsense style, Gary covers the forces that drive U.S. and Canadian real estate markets, historical trends, and the current economic factors that have the biggest impact on real estate sales and homeownership. New this year, Gary also touched on economic risks, including unpredictable federal policy, natural disasters, and international conflicts, along with trends in the transfer of generational wealth.
When it comes to residential real estate, Gary reported that home sales in the U.S. are at a 29-year low. While that’s a modern floor, he explained there’s still plenty of opportunity for those prepared to get their unfair share. Individuals and families who have to buy or sell due to life events will still get into the market. And with interest rates on the rise again, those who were waiting for lower rates are starting to shift their thinking. According to the NAR 2024 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 86% of buyers use a real estate agent and 81% of sellers work with the first agent they talk to. That means if you’re an agent, proactive lead generation will give you a major advantage, especially when paired with ongoing communication to your sphere.
Whatever circumstances bring, Gary said you can provide the greatest value to your clients by helping them understand the factors that affect real estate, and educating them on the benefits of homeownership. Staying informed and up to date on market conditions makes you an asset to your sphere – and you can start with Gary’s Vision Speech slide deck.
Family Helping Family: A Focus on Caring, Sharing, and Giving
KW Cares® was a feature throughout FR this year. Between floods in North Carolina and wildfires in Los Angeles, KW Cares® has been operating in high gear to distribute both monetary and in-kind donations to market centers and individual KW® associates – and the need is ongoing. The non-profit is sustained through the KW family itself: Associates who give with every transaction are the primary source of the funding that enables the organization to make an immediate and meaningful impact, when and where support is needed.
At Inspirational Morning, KW legend Mo Anderson and Chief Leadership Officer Mark Willis talked with KW® leaders Mark Brenneman, Kent Temple, and Carrie Herman about their experience organizing relief efforts through their KW® market centers in the Carolinas. The trio relayed how an emergency supply of generators from KW Cares®, which arrived on the scene before FEMA, helped save lives when power and water were cut off to the region. As Mark Brenneman said, “KW Cares will be our legacy. It allows us to take care of our people, which then allows our people to take care of their families and the community.”
Following FR, KW Cares® shared the annual award winners for transactional giving by both region and market center, and announced the launch of the 2025 contest for the coveted crystal truck.
The FR25 Mobile Experience: Agenda-Planning Made Easy
With hundreds of sessions across five days, plus networking events and community mixers, it’s not hard to pack an FR agenda from early morning to well past sundown.
This year, the FR25 mobile experience proved an invaluable upgrade, making it easy to explore sessions and plan each day. Accessible to both KW® associates and guest attendees, the app allowed users to sort sessions by audience, session type, topic, and more than 500 (!) speakers and panelists. While convention centers can be overwhelming, the in-app maps and mobile notifications helped attendees find their way and stay on top of upcoming events. And bonus points go to KW’s tech team. The FR25 mobile experience was built in-house and was accessible right inside KW Command.
An Unstoppable Keynote Speaker: Jamie Kern Lima
“Had I given up, I would’ve doubted myself out of my own destiny.”
Those were the words of entrepreneur and best-selling author Jamie Kern Lima. As she explained during her keynote, Jamie spent eight years developing IT Cosmetics, facing round-the-clock work hours, weight discrimination, and innumerable rejections from investors and retailers. But Jamie couldn’t shake the sense that she was destined to bring her products to women who needed them.
It was a combination of vision and an internal knowing that helped her keep going – and her conviction paid off. Jamie built the biggest beauty brand in QVC history and sold IT Cosmetics to L’Oréal for $1.2B in cash in 2016. In the process, she became the first female CEO of a L’Oréal brand in the company’s history, and landed on the Forbes list of America’s Richest Self-Made Women. Since then, she’s written two best-selling books, Believe IT and Worthy, funded leadership training in prisons and shelters, and donated more than $40 million in products and funds to help women face the effects of cancer with confidence. But first, she had to contend with rejection and her own self-doubt.
During her Thursday morning talk, Jamie shared that she grew up in the real estate industry; her mom and stepdad owned an independent escrow company. Watching her parents press on through the market’s highs and lows, she learned what it looks like to hold onto self-belief when times are tough.
As Jamie walked the audience through an interactive exercise, she led with the question, “What’s one way self-doubt has already cost you in your life and business?” She asked audience members to consider what impact self-doubt will have on their career five and 15 years from now, and what it will cost them if nothing changes. As the audience took time to reflect, the impact of Jamie’s question was palpable – and tears started to roll.
When it comes to working through tough times, Jamie said she believes self-doubt is more detrimental than the state of an industry or an economy. That’s because our sense of self-worth becomes our ceiling, and we can doubt ourselves out of our destiny. To build IT Cosmetics, Jamie said the single most important thing she did was to make the decision to trust herself – and she left the audience with one final question: What’s one way you’re going to stop doubting the power that’s in you?
Family Reunion: A Legendary Learning and Networking Event
At the top of her keynote, Jamie Kern Lima welcomed the audience with a huge smile and shouted, “Your Family Reunion is legendary!”
While we already knew FR was different, we learned how our culture makes a difference beyond our own KW family. Jamie went on to explain that she and FR24 keynote speaker Mel Robbins have been friends for years. When Mel left the main stage last year following a presentation that brought the house down, she called Jamie to tell her she’d never been to an event quite like Family Reunion. Rather than feeling depleted from giving her all to her keynote, Mel told Jamie she left FR filled up with energy and enthusiasm from the audience.
Jamie told us she turns down 99% of the speaking requests that come her way. But thanks to KW’s unique culture, she was on board to share her knowledge – and her knowing. That’s a lesson worth taking home.
Don’t miss the next legendary Family Reunion, Feb. 21-24, 2026, in Atlanta, Georgia.
