Texas Real Estate Commission says Realm portal rollout fell short; staff outlines fixes and timeline

The Texas Real Estate Commission on Tuesday acknowledged failures in the Dec. 15 rollout of its new Realm license‑management portal and outlined steps to restore normal operations while fielding intense questions from commissioners and licensees.

Executive Director Chelsea Buchholz told the commission the agency moved from an inflexible legacy system to Realm because the old platform could not accommodate changing rules and automation needs. "Launch was December 15. That did not go as planned, to say the least," Buchholz said, adding that the agency has since made steady progress on integrations and data conversion.

The portal now processes renewals and many other transactions: Buchholz said the system has recorded about 100,000 successful account registrations, processed more than $3 million in payments, and is accepting enforcement complaints and course approvals. At the same time, staff reported about 40 open “critical or high” technical tickets and an estimated backlog of roughly 4,000 applicants waiting on licenses or exam authorizations. Buchholz said the office is prioritizing automation of exam‑authorization and background‑check integrations with Pearson VUE and the Department of Public Safety to accelerate issuance.

Commissioners and licensees pressed staff on procurement, testing, contingency planning and data conversion. Commissioner Warner asked whether vendor references and stress testing had been completed before selection; Buchholz said the procurement was multi‑step and that staff had studied other states’ rollouts but would provide detailed procurement documentation and testing records outside the open meeting. "We can set a time and walk through that whole process with you," she said.

Customer Relations Director Robert Hood described a spike in demand after the launch: December call volume hit roughly 24,000 calls (18,000 in the final two weeks) and January exceeded 30,000 calls; the contact center has operated at the maximum phone lines allowed by the Texas Department of Information Resources and temporarily suspended a callback feature to manage capacity.

Staff described manual workarounds that have allowed some licenses to issue while critical integrations are fixed. The agency reported issuing thousands of renewals since launch — including more than 6,785 sales‑agent renewals and over 2,000 broker renewals — and said exam authorizations are issuing but remain partly manual until automation is fully tested and enabled.

Brokers and other attendees said the launch harmed some licensees and applicants. "It's costing them money," broker Mitch Rainey told commissioners, citing hundreds of agents unable to take exams or associate with sponsoring brokers. Broker Jay Marks, who addressed the commission during public comment, said response times to emails have been unacceptable and urged additional broker‑focused support, including a dedicated hotline. Marks also called for accountability at senior levels.

Commissioners responded by thanking staff for long hours and individualized help, while several said an after‑action review is needed once the system stabilizes. Commissioner Pena encouraged an internal autopsy to identify lessons learned and process improvements.

The commission did not vote on replacing the vendor. Commissioners requested a detailed after‑action report for a future meeting, and several asked that the vendor provide a status presentation at the May meeting in Houston. Buchholz said staff will continue to whittle down tickets and expects automation to materially reduce the backlog once fully tested and rolled out.

The commission’s immediate priorities are closing the roughly 40 critical tickets, increasing automation for exam authorizations and background checks, and improving large‑broker reporting and sponsorship displays so brokerages can manage the agents they sponsor.