RE/MAX
RE/MAX is an international real estate franchise operating in over 100 countries and territories that, in 2015, had over 100,000 agents in 6,800 offices.
History
Early history: 1970–76
RE/MAX was founded in 1973 by Dave Liniger and Gail Main in Denver, Colorado.It was established with a maximum commission concept, meaning that 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.
In 1975, Dennis Curtin purchased the first RE/MAX franchise outside of Colorado, in Kansas City, Missouri. Growing to 100 franchises in two years, it has held an annual convention since its first one was held in Las Vegas in 1976.
International expansion: 1977–98
It opened its first office outside the U.S. in 1977, when Don Fernie started RE/MAX South in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Having 30 Canadian franchises by 1981, RE/MAX became the top real estate company in that country six years later.Having made its inaugural flight at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta in New Mexico, the RE/MAX Hot Air Balloon—a red, white and blue hot air balloon—was introduced in 1978, becoming its official logo the following year. Expanding beyond North America with the formation of RE/MAX Europe in 1994, it also began operating in Germany, Italy, Spain, and South Africa.
In November 1994, RE/MAX Satellite Network was launched in the US as a sales training system for real estate. Later renamed RE/MAX University, it debuted at the NAR Convention in Anaheim, California, and offered training, professional designation courses, and company news.
In 1998, two years after his company expanded into Australia and New Zealand, 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.
Online expansion and IPO: 2006–present
In 2006, three years before it was reported that its franchises were present in 70 countries, RE/MAX began to list all U.S. homes for sale on its website, including homes being sold by competitors. By 2011, the company already had more than 6,000 franchises.In April 2010, the Obama administration announced the "Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives" program. Leaders from the U.S. Treasury Department and the Bank of America detailed the initiative while participating in a live national broadcast held at RE/MAX headquarters.
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. In 2015, RE/MAX Israel was still selling properties in 18 different Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
With over 15,000 agents in Europe, the company expanded into China by opening an office in Beijing.
In November 2015, two years after its first IPO raised $220 million, RE/MAX Holdings Inc completed its second offering of approximately $185 million, holding a 58.3% stake and RIHI owns 41.7% of RE/MAX LLC. Total diluted share count as of December 31 was 30.2 million shares.
Operating in about 100 countries, RE/MAX maintained the largest corporate fleet of hot air balloons in the world in 2016. Furthermore, covering Minnesota and Wisconsin, RE/MAX Results was declared its largest franchise, with 1,200 agents and an average of 20 transactions per agent.
Two years later, former president Geoff Lewis and Liniger retired after leaving their roles, with responsibilities passing to CEO Adam Contos. That same year, it was reported that he had violated the firm's ethics by lending a multimillion-dollar sum of his own personal money to Contos.
Subsidiaries
In addition to RE/MAX LLC, RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. owns two other brands.Motto Mortgage is the first national mortgage brokerage franchise brand in the United States. Motto was launched by RE/MAX in 2016.
Wemlo is a fintech company that provides third-party mortgage loan processing services. The company was founded in early 2019 as a startup in Florida by David Rogove and Steven Gelley. RE/MAX Holdings announced its acquisition of wemlo on September 1, 2020.
Philanthropy
In 1992, RE/MAX became a sponsor of Children's Miracle Network. The company hosts art auctions, organizes golf tournaments, and encourages agent fundraising activities. Collectively, all RE/MAX affiliates have raised $147 million for the Children's Miracle Network hospitals in over 20 years of sponsorship.In 2002, the company became a sponsor of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Race For The Cure events in the United States.
Local offices use hot air balloons for educational programs and non-profit organization fundraisers.