RISMEDIA, April 19, 2010-Two surveys of elite real estate brokerages indicate that in 2009, RE/MAX significantly outperformed its national competitors. RISMedia's 2010 Power Broker Report & Survey ranked 69 RE/MAX brokerages among their Top 300, representing 23% of all ranked brokerages. This showing placed RE/MAX 47% higher than its closest competitor. In the REAL Trends 500 survey, 122 RE/MAX brokerages earned a ranking, giving RE/MAX 24% of the top 500 brokerages in the U.S.

"We are so proud of our sales associates for earning such an impressive distinction, especially considering how difficult today's market is," says Margaret Kelly, CEO of RE/MAX International. "The fact is, only the best trained and most experienced agents will find ways to succeed and be able to provide valuable assistance to so many American families facing financial difficulties."

RE/MAX sales associates had the highest agent productivity of all the national real estate brands. In the RISMedia's 2010 Power Broker Report & Survey, sales associates affiliated with RE/MAX brokerages averaged an impressive 15.1 transaction sides per agent, an 18% increase over their winning position in last year's survey, and a performance that placed them 26% higher than the next closest competitor.

Kelly believes a significant factor in the success of RE/MAX sales associates is the comprehensive educational resources available through RE/MAX University. "Our associates lead the industry in sales experience and professional designations. Within the past year, over 15,000 agents earned a distressed property designation from RE/MAX University, our on-demand, multi-media educational institution, and we have significant initiatives that will increase those efforts in the coming year."

The National Association of Realtors® has said that nearly 40% of the current market consists of distressed properties, including foreclosures and short sales. However, because the short sale process has been difficult for distressed homeowners and Realtors to navigate, RE/MAX has led a lobbying effort in Washington, DC to revise the process. As a result, the Treasury Department announced that as of April 5, all lending institutions participating in HAMP must follow new, uniform short sale procedures.

"We worked long and hard for this reform, and are very pleased that Treasury has now put these short sale measures in place," says Dave Liniger, Chairman and Co-Founder of RE/MAX International. "With Treasury, we produced a special satellite broadcast to train our agents on the new short sale process. We hope the result is that fewer families will go through the traumatic foreclosure process, and we can reduce the number of foreclosed properties on the market."

The 22nd annual Power Broker Report is produced by RISMedia and the complete report can be found online at www.rismedia.com. The final REAL Trends 500 survey will be released on May 1, but a preliminary summary is now available online at www.realtrends.com