- What Happened: Tense clash at the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) meeting on May 4, 2026, as commissioners argued over how aggressively to question Accela, the vendor behind the troubled “Realm” licensing portal.
- Key Flashpoint: Commissioner Leslie Lerner was repeatedly interrupted by Chairman Mark Woodruff while questioning system performance and security; Vice Chairman Chance Brown tried to shut down the line of questioning.
- Current Status: The Realm system is in a “stabilization phase” with far fewer technical issues, but customer service delays remain a major problem.
- Call Hold Times: Improved from 51 minutes in March to around 30 minutes recently — still far above the agency’s 2-minute goal.
- Ongoing Challenges: ~8,000 real estate licenses renew monthly, with many first-time users struggling; full stabilization expected in the next 1–2 months.
- Outlook: Agency and Accela officials say progress is being made, but admit the system “will never be finished” and trust-building continues.
Tensions flared during a recent meeting of the Texas Real Estate Commission as commissioners clashed over how aggressively to question the vendor behind the state’s troubled licensing system while officials outlined what license holders can expect in the months ahead.
The exchange came on May 4 as the agency continues to grapple with the fallout from its new “Realm” licensing portal, developed with Accela, and as thousands of agents and brokers cycle through renewals each month.
Commissioner Leslie Lerner pressed Acela representatives with a series of questions about system performance, security, and timelines. But Chairman Mark Woodruff repeatedly interrupted, at one point appearing to want to cut off the line of questioning.
“Excuse me, don’t interrupt, please. I’m asking questions,” Lerner said, after being cut off by Woodruff mid-exchange.
“We’re going to stop that line of questioning,” Vice Chairman Chance Brown said.
Woodruff followed up by attempting to limit Lerner’s questioning, suggesting that questions be submitted, in writing, later. Lerner pushed back, arguing the issues were broader than the commission itself: “because these are important to people other than us, people have been impacted by this implementation.”
The tense moment echoed earlier divisions reported in March, when commissioners debated the severity of rollout problems that some license holders said left them unable to work for months, according to previous reporting by The Dallas Express.
Despite the friction, Acela officials and agency leadership offered a more optimistic outlook on the system’s trajectory.
Accela executive Jonathan Ward described the project as a complex, multi-year overhaul that replaces a roughly 15-year-old system, calling the Texas implementation “truly unique” for its size and scope. He said the project has now entered a “stabilization phase,” with open system issues dropping from more than 100 earlier this year to just a handful.
Koert Zegels, a senior director for Delivery with Accela, told commissioners that stabilization after a system launch typically takes “between six months to a year,” adding that the agency appears “ahead of the game.” He said broader implementation timelines for projects of this scale can stretch “close to four to five years.”
Looking ahead, Zegels said the system could reach a more stable state within “the next two months,” after which improvements would focus on user experience and self-service tools.
Agency Executive Director Chelsea Buchholtz emphasized that while progress has been made, the system will remain a work in progress.
“I’m often asked, ‘When will we be done?’” Buchholtz said. “… we won’t know until it’s past us in hindsight… but in other ways, we’ll never be finished.”
She described significant improvements since earlier in the year, when the agency faced manual processing bottlenecks, unclear workflows, and surging call volumes. Still, key challenges remain, particularly customer service delays.
Average call hold times reached about 51 minutes in March, which Buchholtz called “unacceptable.” That figure improved to roughly 20 minutes in April, then ticked back up to around 30 minutes during a high-volume period at the turn of the month.
The agency’s goal is to answer calls within two minutes, Buchholtz said.
The system’s structure partly drives the ongoing strain: roughly 100,000 license holders renew each year, or about 8,000 per month, meaning new users are continuously encountering the platform for the first time.
“For the foreseeable future, we will be working with license holders each month who need to learn the Realm Portal,” she said.
To manage demand, the agency is expanding training resources, including webinars, instructional videos, and a new “Realm Help” section on its website. Officials are also encouraging users to rely less on phone support and more on self-service tools, a shift Buchholtz acknowledged may be difficult.
“What I’m learning is that many… want personal help,” she said. “And I’m trying to change their minds.”
Accela representatives said future updates could incorporate artificial intelligence tools to improve user experience, while Buchholtz stressed that rebuilding trust with license holders remains a priority after months of disruption.
Even as officials pointed to progress, the clash between Lerner and Woodruff underscored lingering frustration within the commission itself over an issue that remains far from fully settled.
