Remax
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

RE/MAX, short for Real Estate Maximums, is an American international real estate company that operates through a franchise system. As of 2015, RE/MAX had more than 100,000 agents in 6,800 offices. RE/MAX operates in over 100 countries and territories.


History


Early history: 1970–76

RE/MAX was founded in January 1973 by Dave Liniger and Gail Main (who later married Liniger and became Gail Liniger) in
Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
. The company was established with a maximum
commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...
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 Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...
. The company grew to 100 franchises in two years. RE/MAX held its first convention in
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
in 1976, which became an annual event.


International expansion: 1977–98

RE/MAX opened its first office outside the United States in
Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...
,
Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
in 1977, started by Don Fernie as RE/MAX South. By 1981, the company had 30 franchises in Canada, and in 1987, RE/MAX became the top real estate company in Canada. In 1978, the RE/MAX Hot Air Balloon—a red, white and blue
hot air balloon A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket (in some long-distance or high-altitude balloons, a capsule), which carri ...
—was introduced, taking its
maiden flight The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets. In the early days of aviation it could be dange ...
at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta in
New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
. A year later in 1979, the balloon became the company's official logo. In 1994, the company expanded outside North America with the establishment of RE/MAX Europe. Regional operations expanded in Germany, Italy, Spain, and South Africa. In November 1994, the RE/MAX Satellite Network (RSN; renamed RE/MAX University in the 2000s)—a satellite training system for real estate—was launched in the US, debuting at the
National Association of Realtors The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is an American trade association for those who work in the real estate industry. it had over 1.5 million members, making it the largest trade association in the United States including NAR's institute ...
Convention in
Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...
. The RSN offered training, professional designation courses, and company news. RE/MAX expanded to Australia and New Zealand in 1996. In 1998, 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, RE/MAX began to list all U.S. homes for sale on its website, including homes being sold by competitors. By 2009, the company had franchises in 70 countries. In April 2010, the
Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, took office following his victory over Republican nomine ...
announced the " Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives" (HAFA) program. The day the announcement was made, leaders from the U.S. Treasury Department and
Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...
participated in a live, national broadcast detailing the initiative at RE/MAX Headquarters in Denver. By 2011, the company had more than 6,000 franchises. In 2013,
UN Special Rapporteur Special rapporteur (or independent expert) is the title given to independent human rights experts whose expertise is called upon by the United Nations (UN) to report or advise on human rights from a thematic or country-specific perspective. De ...
Richard Falk Richard Anderson Falk (born November 13, 1930) is an American professor emeritus of international law at Princeton University, and Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor's Chairman of the Board of Trustees. In 2004, he was listed as the autho ...
released a report which alleged that real estate groups, such as RE/MAX, found to promote or sell properties in
Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Israeli Jews, Jewish identity or ethni ...
s may be held liable for complicity in the crime of promoting settlement activity in occupied territory. As of November 2015, RE/MAX Israel was still selling properties in 18 different Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. RE/MAX Holdings Inc raised $220 million in its
initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...
(IPO) in 2013. A secondary offering was completed of approximately $185 million in November 2015. REMAX Holdings owns 58.3% and RIHI owns 41.7% of RE/MAX LLC. Total diluted share count (public and private) as of December 31, 2015, was 30.2 million shares. The company expanded into China in 2014 by opening an office in Beijing. The company had more than 15,000 agents in Europe. As of 2016, RE/MAX operates in about 100 countries and has more than 115 hot air balloons in operation, the largest corporate hot air balloon fleet in the world. In 2016, they named Re/Max Results, a franchisee covering most of Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin as their largest franchisee. with more than 1200 agents, and averaging more than 20 transactions per agent. In 2018, former president of the company Geoff Lewis, and Liniger stepped down from their roles to retire. Responsibilities were handed to CEO Adam Contos. In 2018 it was announced that Liniger had violated company ethics with a multi-million-dollar loan of his own personal money to Contos.


Subsidiaries

In addition to RE/MAX LLC, RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. owns two other brands. Motto Mortgage (Motto Franchising, LLC) is the first national mortgage brokerage franchise brand in the United States. Motto was launched by RE/MAX in 2016. Wemlo (stylized as wemlo) is a
fintech Financial technology (abbreviated as fintech) refers to the application of innovative technologies to products and services in the financial industry. This broad term encompasses a wide array of technological advancements in financial services, ...
company that provides third-party
mortgage loan A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law (legal system), civil law jurisdictions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners t ...
processing services. The company was founded in early 2019 as a
startup A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship includes all new businesses including self-employment and businesses that do not intend to ...
in
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
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 The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. Local offices use hot air balloons for educational programs and non-profit organization fundraisers.


Recognition

RE/MAX University has been featured in ''Training Magazine''s Top 125 US Organizations recognizing employee development.


See also

* RE/MAX Field


References


External links

*
Oficial website Italy

Oficial website Moldavia
{{DEFAULTSORT:RE MAX Franchises Real estate companies established in 1973 Real estate services companies of the United States American companies established in 1973 Companies based in Denver