Real estate mega franchise Keller Williams is continuing its expansion into South America with a new franchise in Argentina and new leadership in Colombia.
KW Norte, the newly-launched Argentine franchise, will be led by Keller Williams’ Regional Operating Principal Carlos Mayer. It will be based in Buenos Aires and take under its wing the local O’Reilly real state agency and its 25 agents. KW Norte will also operate with Mayer’s real estate company Austral Real Estate SRL, which concentrates on selling ranches and resorts within Argentina and Chile.
“We are thrilled to have Carlos and his core leadership team join our worldwide Keller Williams family,” William E. Soteroff, Keller Williams Worldwide president, said in a statement. “It is just one more example of the growth that leaders in Latin America are finding within Keller Williams.”
The Austin-based real estate franchise currently has more than 940 offices across the globe, many of which are based in South and Central America. The new Argentina franchise will join KW franchises in Colombia, Belize, Nicaragua and Panama.
In the last quarter of 2017, Keller Williams also changed the leadership in its Colombian franchise, which launched in 2015. The franchise is now run by Regional Operating Principal Camilo Fonnegra, whose firm Fonnegra Gerlein will also join the Keller Williams network.
“The growth opportunity is huge in Colombia,” said Fonnegra in a statement. “Williams’ models and systems are a game changer. The brand offers the best solution for our leaders and agents to scale up their businesses.”
Previously, the KW Colombian franchise was run by Richard Danna. Keller Williams did not provide a reason for the leadership switch and declined to comment on Inman’s questions when asked by email.
KW is thinking of expanding further into South America, considering potential franchises in Peru, Chile, Ecuador and Paraguay. Worldwide, the company’s international division has 6,395 real estate agents and 152 market centers in 29 regions.
“The KW Argentina team is already delivering value through agent-focused training for agents onboarding in the KW Norte market center,” said Ellen Curtis, COO, Keller Williams Worldwide, in a statement. “[…] We are excited about the future for Keller Williams in South America.”
