Brokerage Reviews
Keller Williams Realty
Keller Williams Realty, founded in 1983 by Gary Keller and Joe Williams, is an American technology and international real estate franchise with headquarters in Austin, Texas. It claimed to be the largest real estate franchise in number of agents and sales volume for 2018 and 2019. Keller Williams offers a second income source called Profit Share.
eXp Realty
eXp Realty, founded in 2009 by Glenn Sanford, is a virtual brokerage with a global footprint. It offers services tailored to both homebuyers and sellers, as well as for commercial investors. Cloud-based tools, live training, and support are available to agents worldwide, 24/7. With publicly traded stock and revenue share, eXp offers agents multiple ways to earn income as an agent.
Century 21
Century 21 Real Estate, founded in 1971 by Art Bartlett and Marsh Fisher, consists of approximately 14,000 independently owned and operated franchised broker offices in 86 countries and territories worldwide with over 147,000 sales professionals. Purchased and sold multiple times, Century 21 is currently part of Realogy, now Anywhere Real Estate.
Coldwell Banker
RE/MAX
RE/MAX, short for Real Estate Maximums was founded in January 1973 by Dave Liniger and Gail Main with a maximum commission concept, meaning agents would keep nearly all of their commissions and pay their broker a share of the office expenses, rather than paying their broker a share of the commission of each sale, which is common in residential real estate.
Redfin
Redfin was founded in 2004 by David Eraker, Michael Dougherty, and David Selinger. Changing visions and lawsuits has caused Redfin to chang greatly from its humble beginnings as a home searching website. Redfin offers agents a salary instead of the conventional commission model. In 2022, Redfin laid off 8% of its workforce amid a downturn in the housing market.
Berkshire Hathaway
Part of a much larger conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway Energy’s HomeServices of America was founded in 1998. In addition to brokerage services, these real estate companies provide mortgage loan originations, title and closing services, home warranties, property and casualty insurance and other related services. Famous Investor, Warren Buffet, serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Berkshire Hathaway.
Sotheby’s International Realty
Founded in 1976, Sotheby’s history dates back to the Sotheby’s Auction House of 1744. In February 2004, Sotheby’s entered into a long-term strategic alliance with real estate services provider Realogy Holdings Corp., now Anywhere Real Estate, Inc. The agreement provided for the licensing of the Sotheby’s International Realty name and the development of a full franchise system. Franchises in the system are granted to brokerages and individuals meeting Realogy’s qualifications.
COMPASS
Founded in 2012 as Urban Compass, Robert Reffkin and Ori Allon set out to disrupt the property industry starting with New York City and expanding to more than 300 offices across the country. Self proclaimed “country’s largest independent brokerage,” Compass began as a salary only company and later migrated to commissions to attract better agent talent. Compass is a Fortune 500 company traded under the ticker COMP and has fallen from its all time high of $20.15 to a 52 week average of $3.75.