RE/MAX

RE/MAX


 

RE/MAX 

RE/MAX, short for “Real Estate Maximums,” is an American international real estate company that operates through a franchisesystem. The company has held the number one market share in the United States and Canada since 1999, as measured by residential transaction sides. RE/MAX has more than 100,000 agents in 6,800 offices. RE/MAX operates in about 100 countries.

 

History 

RE/MAX was founded in January 1973 by Dave and Gail Liniger. The company was established with a maximum commissionconcept, meaning agents would keep nearly all of their commissions and pay their broker a share of the office expenses, rather than a share of the commission. In 1975, Dennis Curtin purchased the first RE/MAX franchise outside of Colorado, in Kansas City, Missouri. Expansion continued when George Marshall brought RE/MAX to Columbus, Ohio. The company had 100 franchises in two years. RE/MAX held its first convention in Las Vegas in 1976. It became an annual event. In 1977, RE/MAX opened its first office outside the U.S. in Calgary, Canada. In 1978, the RE/MAX red, white and blue hot air balloon became the official RE/MAX logo. In 1982, George Marshall purchased the first RE/MAX hot air balloon in Columbus, Ohio.

In 1994, RE/MAX expanded outside North America with the establishment of RE/MAX Europe by Canadians Frank Polzler and Walter Schneider.

In November 1994, the RE/MAX Satellite Network (RSN) was launched with four hours of programming daily, which was released to U.S. real estate agents using satellite dishes. The network started broadcasting more than 60 hours of programming monthly. The network programming included training and company news.

In 1998, RE/MAX CEO Dave Liniger attempted the first manned balloon flight around the world in a stratospheric gas balloon. The flight was canceled due to design and weather problems. At the time, RE/MAX had 88 balloons, making it the largest hot air balloon fleet in the world.

In 2006, RE/MAX updated their corporate website to include listings for all U.S. homes for sale, including homes being sold by competitors. In 2007, the company established RE/MAX University which is an online educational platform that includes a training library. RE/MAX University has been featured in Training Magazine’s Top 125 Organizations recognizing employee development. By 2009, the company had franchises in 70 countries. By 2011, the company had more than 6,000 franchises.

In April 2010, the Obama Administration announced the “Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives” (HAFA) program. The day the announcement was made, leaders from the U.S. Treasury Department and Bank of America participated in a live, national broadcast detailing the initiative at RE/MAX Headquarters in Denver held by CEO Dave Liniger. The RE/MAX Commercial division launched a new website in 2012 and has been recognized as a Top Real Estate Brokerage Firm by National Real Estate Investor.

In 2013, UN Special Rapporteur Richard Falk released a report which alleged that real estate groups, such as RE/MAX, found to promote or sell properties in Israeli settlements may be held liable for complicity in the crime of promoting settlement activity in occupied territory. As of November 2015, RE/MAX Israel was still selling properties in 18 different Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, and RE/MAX LLC receives financial benefits from RE/MAX Israel’s sale of properties in settlements.

RE/MAX, LLC’s parent company, RE/MAX Holdings Inc, raised $220 million in its initial public offering (IPO) in 2013. RE/MAX Holdings, Inc, completed a secondary offering of approximately $185 million in November 2015. REMAX Holdings owns 58.3% and RIHI owns 41.7% of RE/MAX LLC. Total diluted share count (public and private) as of December 31, 2015 was 30.2 million shares.

RE/MAX was included as the leading real estate franchise on the Franchise Times Top 200 list for the sixth time in 2014. Also in 2014, RE/MAX was named to the World Franchising Network’s Top 50 Franchises for Minorities for the seventh consecutive year. In 2015, RE/MAX was featured as the leading real estate franchise in the Entrepreneur magazine Franchise 500 ranking and its list of top global franchises.

 

 

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