Despite the tough market, RE/MAX International reported on Tuesday that the company sold 940 franchises in 2007 and boosted its net office count by 4 percent compared to the prior year.
The company had 7,016 offices at the close of 2007. Texas, the Carolinas and Florida had the highest franchise growth in the United States, and Italy, Portugal and the Czech Republic led overseas franchise sales, the company announced.
"Given the conditions in the housing market, and mixed signals in the economy, our growth in 2007 was remarkable," Dave Liniger, RE/MAX co-founder and chairman, said during a company convention in Las Vegas.
Realogy Corp., another major international real estate franchise company, reported that its Coldwell Banker network added 31 franchise affiliates in 2007, with 56 existing franchises expanding operations through mergers or acquisitions during the year.
Realogy’s ERA Real Estate added 52 franchises in 2007 and Sotheby’s International Realty grew its office network by 37 percent, and the company plans to roll out Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate as a franchise brand this year.
Realogy also operates the Century 21 franchise network, which has about 8,400 offices. Realogy-affiliated brands have about 15,000 offices around the globe, including about 1,000 company-owned offices. RE/MAX has operations in about 65 countries.
At the RE/MAX conference, Liniger announced a "RE/MAX 365" initiative, created in conjunction with real estate trainer Buffini and Co., that is intended to boost agent productivity through "town hall" meetings that will be broadcast to agents’ homes and offices and through a training program called "RE/MAX Ultimate Agent," the company announced.
In conjunction with this effort, the company is launching an internal corporate blog, authored by Liniger and other RE/MAX executives, to share tips and address agents’ and brokers business concerns.
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