When it comes to buying or selling a home, there is no one perfect company, as each home buyer or seller has different needs, concerns, and personalities. Additionally, it’s usually the agent – not their company – that’s doing the lion share of work and delivering great service to consumers. However, the real estate company or brokerage they work for is the environment that trains them, supports them, regulates them, and offers countless other resources along the way.
In the spirit of educating consumers about their real estate options, we decided to explore some of the facts about the most prevalent and popular real estate companies today.
In part one of this blog, we profiled Century21, Coldwell Banker, Keller Williams, and RE/MAX. But there are plenty of other thriving and well-established real estate firms that are helping clients across the U.S. In this blog, we’ll cover eight more of those great real estate firms.
Please note that we don’t endorse any one company nor are offering personal reviews or recommendations and these are listed in no particular order.
So which real estate firm is right for you? That’s up to you to decide, but now you’re armed with some great information to help you make a choice.
1. ERA Real Estate
Electronic Realty Associates, better known as ERA, was established in 1971 with the revolutionary philosophy of providing cutting edge technology to meet the needs of home buyers and sellers. Since then, this company that’s operated by Realogy (the parent company of Century 21, Coldwell Banker and Sotheby’s International Realty), has expanded to have offices across the U.S. and the world, including Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Germany.
2. Sotheby’s International Realty
Founded in 1976, Sotheby’s International Realty aims to serve high net worth clients who are buying and selling luxury properties. Typical residential house sales brokered by Sotheby’s fall in the million dollars and up range. So from their blog to their website, their corporate image and use of technology during transactions, Sotheby’s appeals to the wealthy homeowner. They have a strong presence internationally, too, with recent growth into the luxury market in Southeast Asia.
3. The Corcoran Group
You may know mogul Barbara Corcoran from her role on the popular TV show, Shark Tank, but many don’t realize how groundbreaking she’s been in the real estate business. In 1995, Corcoran launched one of the very first real estate websites, and her firm grew to be one of the largest and influential in New York City. Her organization spans from New York to Florida with 25 offices and 1,900 independent agents.
4. Camden Property Trust
It may not be a household name, but Camden Property Trust is one of the largest publically traded real estate firms in the world, specializing in owning, developing, and managing its more than 55,000 apartment complexes in the U.S. alone. They’re also known as treating their employees like valuable resources, offering strong compensation as well as discounted rentals rates, and a 401(K) matching program.
5. Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate
Wait, isn’t that the name of a magazine? Yes, but Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate has been around for nearly as long, started in 1978 by the Meredith Corporation. They have grown a strong reputation among buyers and sellers since then, and in 2008, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate released a franchise model that’s allowed them to recruit more agents and grow their brand exponentially.
6. Weichert Realtors
When a young upstart realtor named Jim Weichert opened his real estate shop in Chatham, New Jersey in 1969, most people thought he would be out of business quickly, since he was surrounded by veteran agents and well-established brokerages. But by pounding the pavement, greeting people from the neighborhood and passing his business card every day, and grew slowly, and then took over. That personal touch always has been the model for Weichert Realtors, which began franchising in 2002 and now has 500 offices in 37 states, which makes Jim Weichert the largest individual owner of a real estate firm in the U.S.
7. EXIT Realty
EXIT Realty was established in 1996 by a man named Steve Morris with a unique take on the traditional real estate world. He quickly made his real estate website the forefront of this company’s growth. To recruit agents, he implemented a formula that helped re-invent real estate, using the concept of residual income that was then only used in the insurance or music industries. That focus on building residual income helps agents recruit, train, and work hard to build successful teams – a model that’s now been adopted by several other brokerages in real estate.
8. William Lyon & Associates Inc.
Operating under the dba, Lyon Real Estate, this Sacramento, CA firm is a $2 billion business. To achieve that high valuation, they offer more than just residential real estate services, but also design, construction, engineering, wealth and asset management, and property management throughout California. “Lyon” is also the leading independent real estate brokerage company in Greater Sacramento by some market share statistics, an also reinvest in the local community through their Lyon Cares Foundation charity. Lyon Real Estate has operated in Sacramento for more than 70 years, and currently is home to more than 1,100 agents in 17 offices.
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Have you used one of these real estate companies and have some feedback? Are you a Realtor and you’d like your firm to be profiled? Email us!