Real Estate Franchises Sold More Through Fewer Offices

Real estate franchises ran 348 fewer offices last year and still sold more.

Sales across the category rose 6.6 percent to $27.8 billion in 2025, while units slipped from 12,853 to 12,505, according to Franchise Times' analysis of its Top 400 ranking, published Oct. 15. In a franchise system where the unit is a brokerage office and the revenue comes from agent production, that gap says more about where the business is concentrating than about the housing market.

Re/Max, No. 14 overall, grew 14.9 percent to $11.9 billion. Pierre Montagna, vice president of sales, pointed to a listing system called MasterPitch and a Zillow partnership that lets agents market homes on Zillow before they hit the Multiple Listing Service. Keller Williams, at No. 16, was roughly flat at an estimated $10.1 billion, still well below the $12.2 billion it did in 2022.

The fastest grower was much smaller. Iron Valley Real Estate lifted sales nearly 30 percent, from $88 million to $114 million, after reworking how brokerages and agents split commissions. "During the pandemic, we saw a really big uptick in brokerages offering 100 percent commission to agents for low entry level fees," CEO Rob Cleapor said. "That was great for agents at the time, but not great for brokerages as the market kind of cooled off." Iron Valley now offers 80/20 and 90/10 splits alongside a 100 percent option.

United Real Estate, No. 102, grew an estimated 19.3 percent to $784 million by spending on broker support, including negotiated health coverage for agents and an AI tool for preparing listing presentations. "From peak to trough, the market has lost 40 percent of its overall sales," said brand president Rick Haase. "How do you grow when the market is shrinking 40 percent in five years? It's backing our brokers."

Not everyone grew. HomeVestors fell 3.3 percent to $1.5 billion.

The pattern matches what we have reported this fall: two Re/Max owners combining into a 42-office group, HomeSmart absorbing NorthGroup, a 70-year-old Fargo brokerage joining Better Homes and Gardens and HomeServices pulling a strategy firm in-house. Fewer, larger brokerages are doing more of the volume, and franchisors are competing on economics and tools for those brokers rather than on office count.

The 2026 outlook is softer. Haase said United Real Estate cut its forecast for existing home sales from about 4.38 million to 4.21 million as inflation slowed mortgage rate relief. Whether fewer offices can keep producing more if transactions stall is the question the next ranking will answer.