Gary Keller, of Keller Williams Realty, has donated $5 Million dollars to fund a new real estate research center, which will be dedicated to learning more about the motivation behind real estate buyers and sellers. 
- Why do people really buy?
- How do they consider the role of the real estate agent?
- What information does the internet have on the search processes and purchase decisionsthat follow an internet search?
Answers to question like these and much more will be the purpose of the new Keller Real Estate Research Center, a new part of the Baylor University Hankamer School of Business in Waco, Texas.
Gary Keller is the CEO of Keller Williams Realtyand promotes a very agent-centric business model. He was Realtor Magazine's top 25 most influential "thought leaders" in 2006 and Inman News named Gary Keller as one of top 100 "most influential people in real estate" in 2005.
His goal with the new Keller Center is to complement the research efforts of the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, National Association of Realtors® (NAR) and REAL Trends, Inc., by exploring "the industry through both the eyes of the agent and the consumer" (Gary Keller). While current research explores the more economic factors, the Keller Center will place a greater emphasis on decision making factors and processes of home buyers and sellers.
The new Keller Center is scheduled to begin new research in August 2007.