| Large Real Estate Firm Adding New Franchise in Cincinnati |
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Austin, Texas based Keller William Realty, the fifth-largest residential real
estate firm in the nation per REAL Trends magazine, is opening its first
Cincinnati franchise this week. It is the first large firm to enter the
Cincinnati market since Huff Realty expanded in 1996. The new franchise will be owned by four Cincinnati agents coming from four different real estate companies. They already have commitments from more than 30 experienced agents who plan to join the firm. Sarah Benza, who has 12 years with Re/Max Acclaimed, and the last two years as its top residential broker, will serve as the operating principal. Doug Manzler, with 12 years at Coldwell Banker West Shell in Hyde Park, and he left ranked 13 out of 800 agents. Jerry Garrison was the top agent at Huff Realty in Hyde Park and has 15 years of residential and investment sales experience. Finally, Carol Meadows, who brought the four together, left her position as the top agent at Comey & Shepherd Realtors in Hyde Park. Meadows pulled the pieces together to make the new office happen, but both Benza and Manzler had sought out Keller Williams in the past. "I wanted to grow this business way bigger than any of the businesses in Cincinnati were able to see," Meadows explained. "I've met a lot of [out of town] people doing business with growth commissions in the millions. Certainly, we do have those agents in Cincinnati but not to the same extent. They were all with Keller Williams." The national company is unique in that it was formed by agents in 1983 and is owned by them. There is no CEO for Keller Williams. Each franchise owner has veto power. Each agent is treated as a stakeholder, not as an employee. Agents still pay a split-back to the firm, but once they've paid the company $25,000 for the year, they keep 100 percent of their commission. The amount is approximately the same with firms such as Re/Max, that charges a monthly desk fee to agents, but then allows them to keep their commissions; but, if an agent doesn't reach the $25,000 cap, there isn’t a penalty. In addition, each agent has the opportunity to purchase a share of a franchise and to share profits based on their recruiting or referring title and mortgage companies. Partners call it a ‘balance’ between the independence given by Re/Max and the more corporate nature of Coldwell Banker. "It's a very agent-oriented company, and we want to be a nurturing productive environment," Benza stated. "Everyone benefits by the person next to you doing well." The reason it has grown nationally is because it is attractive to both experienced agents who want to wind down their career as well as new agents who want a leg up. "It's growing very quickly because of the demographic of the real estate industry, a lot of baby boomers, a lot of people looking for a way to move out of the business," reports John Tuccillo, a Virginia real estate consultant and economist. "They tend to have a multi-marketing level to them in a sense that there are certain kinds of revenue flows to increase business even if you aren't involved in transferring property." While the splits and caps are not very different from traditional firms, agents concerned about commissions going down may be very attracted to ownership in the company as another source of revenue. Experts see this model not as a threat to firms that are more traditional but rather just a different option. "It's not competition in terms of forcing people to change their business model, but it has traction. It is part of the landscape and will remain part of the landscape," said Tuccillo. By Susan Evans Tampa Real Estate | Miami Real Estate | Sarasota Real Estate | Miami Real Estate |
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