Remax vs. Keller Williams : From A Realtor's View

"Keller Williams vs. RE/MAX" ...  I have been with REMAX for 14 years, most recently as the BIC/Qualifying Broker of a large office.   I recently relocated to another city and in doing so interview with Keller Williams for a management position.  I wanted to do this because throughout the years so many KW agents have asked me to join them.   To me it was obvious why this was.  It wasn't because I'm such a great agent in anyone eyes, nope, it's because if they recruit you, that agent (ideally) gets a piece of your business as well as other agents you may recruit  down the road.  This seems to be no more than Multi-Level Marketing.  The Real Estate industry has a bad enough wrap already; I don't think being view as a Realtor and a Multi-Level Marketer is going to help matters.  Another negative factor with Keller Williams is how they pay their agents. Besides the fact that most KW franchises charge their agent's high fees, (upwards of $1000 per month) just like REMAX, but you start at a 70/30 split.  After you have brought in approx $23,000 in commissions from the 30% side to KW, you can move to a 100% commission. However, when the anniversary of your start date comes around if you were lucky enough to get to the 100% mark in a market such as this; you are congratulated by being dumped back to your 70/30 split. If you haven't gotten to a 100%, your $23,000 benchmark states over from zero.  This happens every year no matter how long you work there. In other words, you are penalized for doing a good job.  It appears this down market has actually helped the Franchise owner's profits because most of the agents never hit the 100 benchmark, leaving more profit for them. All tha said, I still think KW is better than most real estate firms.  Just not nearly as good as REMAX. There is a reason the REMAX slogan is "Above the Crowd"  We are! I have heard the top 10,000 REMAX agents do more business than all 77,000 Keller Williams's agents combined.  I'll keep my constant 95% at REMAX.

GARY BENSON:  Your thoughts seem well thought out but your stats are off BIG TIME.  You show REMAX in 2008 with 69108 agents and 2007 with 85737.   The years you referrance REMAX had approx 110,000 to 120,000 agents.   Maybe you should consider making the switch to the Big Boys...

A 45-agent Keller Williams office in Framingham, Mass., converted to RE/MAX in October, giving the network a huge market share boost with the creation of RE/MAX Best Choice Real Estate.

New Broker/Owner Annette Norton, who had been with Keller Williams for five years, most recently as the office manager, chose RE/MAX because of its powerful brand name and the tools, culture and support offered by the network. Fiona Beecy, Regional Director of Operations for RE/MAX of New England, worked with Norton to convert the office and attract the new agents to RE/MAX.

"As much as I believed in the Keller Williams model, I wanted to look at my options and see what other opportunities were out there," Norton says. "I finally decided RE/MAX was the way to go. RE/MAX of New England's support totally blew me away through this transition. We are very fortunate to have incredible agents who accounted for more than 96 percent of the business at the former office join us over at RE/MAX. Everyone is happy with the transition."

One of those happy top producers is Jim Coady. The Sales Associate with RE/MAX Best Choice was drawn to the network because of its reputation for having top producers. Coady is already seeing a boost in business, he says.

"The RE/MAX name is synonymous with top producers, and it's a well-known fact that RE/MAX agents do more business than Keller Williams agents," Coady says. "Nothing compares to the support and technology RE/MAX offers, such as Imprev, Mainstreet and LeadStreet."

Broker Associate Faye Winer, who was one of the first Keller Williams agents in New England, couldn't agree more. The real estate veteran of more than 30 years says that although change is never easy, she's up for the challenge. And with guidance from the region and Norton, Winer is already hard at work to turn her business around.

"RE/MAX of New England and our fellow Associates have been so warm and welcoming," Winer says. "I'm looking forward to turning what has been a dismal economic year into a better 2010 with RE/MAX."

The addition of the new agents and rebranding of the office represents an $86 million market swing in the Framingham area, says RE/MAX of New England Regional Director Jay Hummer. The region held a kickoff day to welcome the new office and its agents by flying in Broker/Owner Deb Stevens of RE/MAX Results Realty in Maple Ridge, British Columbia. Stevens, who had been with Keller Williams for seven years, converted her 145-agent brokerage to RE/MAX earlier this year. RE/MAX of New England also invited the new agents to its fall sales rally in Providence, R.I., which included technology training, speakers and plenty of educational sessions.

"This is a great group of agents who are led by an incredible Broker/Owner," Hummer says. "One of the new agents said that the sales rally was unlike anything they had on the regional level at Keller Williams. We've worked hard to help the new agents see the value of the RE/MAX brand through our regional efforts."

Thanks for the clarification Greg....

I was with RE/MAX for many years and later moved to Keller Williams because I was promised the world by people who I thought I knew and trusted.  They failed to deliver on most of their promises.  Eventually they implemented policies and regulations which did nothing but restrict your business activities and prohibit you from offering top-notch service to your clients.  They discouraged teams because they felt the group leader shouldn't be making a profit from those on his team, which is why many of the teams left. Profit sharing was a joke, as there wasn't much of a profit due to mismanagement.  And unlike RE/MAX, you received ZERO support from their regional office.  All they ever did is interfere with the individual offices.  It is interesting how Framingham, MA converted into a RE/MAX office and all of the agents, including many long-term KW agents, chose to not stay with Keller Williams.  That in itself should send a very strong message to agents in New England.

Officials at Keller Williams become very defensive when you question them or their policies.  That is the real reason why many of the original brokers who came up with the capital needed to open an office ended up leaving.  They crossed someone, ended up on their bad list, and were later told that they were not in compliance with the franchise agreement, or they were told that they were "out of culture."  The ones brought in to take over the day-to-day operations often came in with no money of their own, so they had nothing to lose if the office failed or if they were unable to pay their rent or even their office's telephone bill.  The turnover rate for the office manager, called the Team Leader, was very high, which is not a good sign at all.  

RE/MAX, on the other hand, was and is, a first-class operation.  I have nothing but fond memories of my years at RE/MAX.

in the soon to be released 2010 Swanepoel TRENDS Report on Real Estate the publication announces the most recognized brands in the real estate industry.  The winner of the most recognized real estate brand is Keller Williams Realty.  Its amazing that a company that does little or no advertising is more recognized that the company that pays to advertise everywhere.  

I have been with both Keller Williams and Remax.  I will give you the good and bad for each.  

Keller Williams - Good: training on all levels, I was a 10 million dollar producer and was able to mastermind with others on my level.  They were all willing to help.  The next year following our mastermind sessions my production doubled, the following year it doubled again.  The culture in the office was wonderful.  Top producers teaching top producers.  

Remax - Good: as long as I paid they left me alone.  I started with C21 then went to remax.  In my 5th year I was a 10 million dollar producer and stayed that way for 3 more years.  I did talk to KW and almost left a few times.  Each time I was about to leave Remax for KW my broker gave me a better deal.  They have the option to make deals where as KW doesnt.  

Keller Williams - Bad:  they have a few more unproductive agents than Remax

Remax - Bad - They left me alone.  They couldn't take me to the next level.  If you want to break through to the next production level they cannot help.

Both business models are good but I do prefer the KW culture.  Remember it doesn't matter what your split is or what your monthly fees are.  What really matters is at the end of the year where would you have netted the most money.  If I could spend 1 dollar and make 2 dollars that would be great, but if I spent 1.50 and made 5 dollars that would be even better.  

Both are good companies, the difference between the two to me were the people who wanted me to succeed.  I had more people with KW help me to succeed then when I was with Remax.

I am new to real estate...just looking for a sponsoring broker. Well should I start? what are the steps to be productive in real estate? I dont have that kind of money to pay a monthly fee. Should I start with apartmenty locating? Need a mentor to help me start with my career.

(Denver, CO June 4, 2009) - Two respected surveys of the nation's top real estate brokerages reveal that RE/MAX Sales Associates outperform their competitors by a significant margin. Based on transactions closed in 2008, The REAL Trends 500 Survey, found that RE/MAX Sales Associates averaged 13.2 transactions per agent, which was 36% higher than their closest competitor. In The RIS Media Power Broker Survey, RE/MAX Sales Associates were also ranked the highest of all national real estate franchises, averaging about 12 transactions, nearly 33% higher than the next ranked competitor. REAL Trends also said that RE/MAX Sales Associates have been the most productive in their survey for several years running.

"There are many ways to measure success in our profession, but it all comes down to how many sales do you close?" said Margaret Kelly, Chief Executive Officer of RE/MAX

International. "The economy has hit the real estate industry especially hard, but the most professional Sales Associates will always find a way to be successful in any kind of market."

While there are about 70,000 brokerages selling residential real estate in the United States, these two national surveys only include the elite, the very best performing brokerages from each company. RE/MAX brokerages represented 23% of all those ranked in both surveys.

In both surveys, other companies were represented by higher numbers of Sales Associates, but even with their superior numbers they didn't come close to the individual performance of the RE/MAX Sales Associates.

Sales Associates affiliated with RE/MAX also averaged higher dollar volume in their sales than all other competitors. The REAL Trends 500 Survey revealed that RE/MAX Associates averaged $3.2 million, which was 31% above the second place organization. In The RIS Media Power Broker Survey, RE/MAX Associates also averaged over $3 million in sales, more than 36% better than the company ranked second.

"In today's housing market, the consumer prefers experienced professionals who can get results, and we've always felt that our Associates are the best in the business, but these surveys provide the facts. We're very proud of this recognition," says Kelly. "Our Associates perform better because they have more experience and hold more professional designations."

Well....interesting discussion.  

There are two dirty little secrets that most KW Market Centers (and certainly KWRI - the franchisor) doesn't want out...

1).  The dissention level between the non-producers in the large market centers vs. the teams/top producers is a huge issue.  There are numerous markets where most of the top producers have left - even Chad Goldwasser who formerly ran the #1 team in Austin, TX for KW - is independent now.  

In a capped model, where each and every agent is only worth $X dollars, the tug of war between the smaller producers who bitch and complain about the heavy listing and lead generating agents is the main problem.  Just like real estate is local, so is the dynamic for a KW Market Center.  If the TL and regional leadership 'get it' and are strong, they can balance it.  If not, don't be suprised if you're summarily kicked out (literally asked to leave) in order to qualm the ranks of the low producers.

While this may seem like a paradox, the company dollar from the aggregrate of the complaining agents in many cases exceeds the capped income of the mega agent/team.  Combine that with a weak team leader and leadership and they will turn the top producer out on the street.   Worse, the KW 'culture' of the leadership then takes the mantra that the top producer/team was doing things that were 'out of culture' or 'unethical' and 'not a match.' 

What's interesting is we are aware of 10+ teams that this has happened to - and in every case, there are no, zero, not a single ethics or other complaint with the local board, state, etc. 

What did they do wrong?  Massive lead generation and well marketed listings generate prospects that the low producers feel like they are entitled to keep.  Second dynamic, the teams/top producers attract talented agents within the market centers who are not at the point in their careers where they can generate enough leads, etc to do well (in many cases survive).  KW Team Leaders (and regional leadership) are forever forcing agents to fail vs. joining a team where they can thrive.  This is exactly what finally drove Chad to leave in Austin as he was attracting so much KW agent talent he threatened the viability of the market center to attract and keep agents.  Remember, the agents who are lower level producers, to quote the KW mantra from KWRI's Launch class - are our profit center, cappers just pay the bills.  It scares the hell out of regional owners and Team Leaders to have successful teams. They would rather run a body shop behind the curtain with agents that continuously produce company dollar - even if it means the vast majority of the agents fail - versus having them join a team/top producer where they have a fighting chance.  Its highly frustrating for not only the agents who are failing but the teams.  Chad's business if full of former KW agents who left so they could join with him.  Even more followed once he was free to attract talent.

Now, a question that anyone would ask, why in the world would agents not just attend the training and follow the training in the book(s) - MREA and Shift.  The reality is in the business where coaching and intense accountability are the key to success, the vast majority of agents need to be paired up with more talented agents/teams unless they are able to run successful businesses.  Another problem, the MREA book - with is over-emphasis on marketing (8x8 and 33 touch) has sent many an agent to their grave while they spend spend spend and run out of money.  Its not just single agents.  One of the former top teams in the KW system - Allen Lancaster in Austin - imploded following the KW MREA model with too much marketing focus.  Now, Andy and Aaron (the rainmakers) are still great agents in Austin, however, even with direct coaching from Gary Keller and Dave Jenks - they failed to succeed.

2).  Be careful of reverse poaching.  Remember that paradox noted above where a top producer/team gets asked to leave KW due to mass complaints by the 'low producing' agents?   Well, believe it or now, the practice we've seen when the Top Producer/agent is asked to leave is for the Team Leader and OP (Operating Principal) and even ALC members to aggressively and actively try to pick apart and recruit the departing team members.  We're aware of several instances where the KW TL locked the rainmakers out of the office and then called in each team member one by one to discuss the 'ethics' and 'integrity' issues of the departing agents.  So for a culture based on WI4C2TS, you'd expect leadership from KWRI or another regional leader to not stand for such behavior.  Interestingly, all KWRI and the regional director usually has to say is "KW is a franchise, that is a local decision and we are not in a position to force or restrict the behavior of the Team Leader or an individual franchise."  As an ALC member - we've voiced our concerns about this behavior to anyone in leadership in Austin (or regionally) and its fallen on deaf ears.

We are huge fans of KW.  I'm still licensed there and have a large real estate practice.  However, we would want any top producer - from Re/MAX or any other franchise to strongly consider these issues and dynamics.  If I were coming in today to a KW office - I'd get a non-recruiting clause in writing and discuss how the TL is going to manage the chorus of compliants and what the policy is for agents within the market center who desire to join the team.

As a current teacher wanting to enter the real estate field, and after reading these posts,  I think I will

start with KW for support and mentoring then move on to Remax.  So two thumbs up for both.  Pick your application and employ your strategy!   Am I anywhere in the ball park?  Thanks so much, very interesting.

What are the split/fees averages for Kw vs Remax?

It varies from region to region, office to office.

Does Remax offer different levels of splits/fees other than their traditional 95/5?

Hi everyone,

I've been reading a lot of blog and post regarding the real estate company to help me decide which company should I start with as a new comer. The more I read..the more I put myself in dilemma and confused. I guess, the only way to get to know how these companies and their agents perform is by just pick one and learned while I am cruising.

I like to join this company with the following deal. Is it too much or ok for me as a new agent? Please advice. I feel it's hard for me to swallow but since I have low risk..I like to give a try.

option#1

desk fee=$0

split=50/50  up to $25,000 cap then 70/30

startup cost=$700

option#2

desk fee=$400

split=70/30 up to $17,000 cap then 95/5

startup cost=$700

option#3 - my suggestion/offer to broker

desk fee=$0

split=80 to broker..20 to me up to $15,000 cap then 95 for me..5 for them

startup cost=$700

Thank you.

New Comer