Photo courtesy of NextHome
Key Takeaways:
- Buying a real estate franchise gives you a head start. Established brands like Keller Williams, Sotheby’s, and NextHome offer instant brand recognition, proven systems, and a built-in franchisee network—advantages an independent agency can’t match from day one.
- Franchisee satisfaction is the most reliable way to compare real estate franchises. Franchise Business Review surveys thousands of owners across 33 benchmark questions covering leadership, training, and lifestyle to deliver unbiased, third-party ratings.
- Real estate franchise opportunities go beyond traditional agencies. Home services concepts, like property management, remodeling, and painting often require lower investments and deliver strong franchisee satisfaction scores.
You check Zillow every morning. You pop into open houses now and then even though you aren’t actually in the market for a new home. You pay for cable just so you can watch HGTV. And you dream of leaving your day job to open up your own real estate agency or home staging company. Or maybe, you’re already working in real estate but you’re eager to go out on your own, to run your own agency and have more control and flexibility over your work life.
In either case, you have options. Whether you’re deciding between starting your own business or purchasing an established real estate franchise — be it an agency or a property management company, home inspection business, or home improvement concept (among others!), each option has its own benefits and challenges. The business model that’s right for you will depend on what you’re looking for and how much control you want to maintain.
Discover This Year’s Top-Rated Franchises
Buying a Real Estate Franchise vs. Opening an Independent Agency (or Starting Your Own Business)
If you’re interested in opening a real estate business, the first question to consider is whether you want to open an independent agency or purchase an established franchise brand. When you purchase a real estate franchise you’re buying into a proven system where you’ll benefit immediately from franchisor support, pre-established processes and an instant referral network.
“It’s an opportunity to have fun building a business from the ground up with the guidance of an engaged franchisor and an inspiring community of fellow owners, providing you with the tools to accelerate your growth,” said Alice Garcia, a Real Property Management franchisee. “Although I am the sole owner of my business, I’ve never felt on my own. I always know exactly who to call when I need help or advice.”
Not to mention, you’ll be able to get up and running fast thanks to the tremendous brand recognition that comes along with many real estate franchises on the market today, like Keller Williams, Sotheby’s International Realty and Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, just to name a few. When you buy a real estate franchise, you benefit from proven operational systems, marketing to training to tech. Plus, you built-in network of other franchisees in your franchise system who can help answer questions and offer guidance.
On the other hand, when you buy a real estate franchise you do give up some control. You won’t be developing your own marketing materials or picking your technology systems, among other things. All that will be done for you at the corporate level. For many business owners that’s a huge benefit. It means your time is freed up to focus on selling and building relationships with clients.
The Pros and Cons of Franchising: Is It Right For You?
For others, it can feel too restrictive. When they think of owning their own business, they imagine developing their own brand and systems exactly how they envision them, on their own terms. If that sounds like you, an independent brokerage agency may be a better choice. Just remember, the time to profitability may be longer while you build brand awareness, bring in clients, implement systems, market your business, maintain your office and then do all the actual work of helping clients buy and sell their homes.
When deciding between a franchise and an independent agency, there are also franchise fees to consider. These fees typically range from 6% -10% depending on the brand you choose. Fees cover all the marketing, training, support, brand awareness and ongoing research and development done at the corporate level and then delivered to the franchisees.
Is a Real Estate Franchise Right for You?
If you’re just beginning to research your options and trying to decide if a franchise makes sense for you, consider the following:
- How much money do you have to invest in a franchise?
- What type of real estate interests you—residential, commercial, leasing, relocation, home-staging, home-improvement, home-flipping?
- What are you looking for in terms of support from the franchisor?
- What top-rated brands are available in the territories you’re interested in?
- Are you passionate about real estate?
As you compare your options, it’s important to understand that not all franchises deliver the same level of support or have the same level of satisfaction among their franchisees. For example, some franchises simply offer you their logo and branding and then leave the rest up to you. The best franchises, however, provide a tested system to follow and extensive training and support. They’re also rated highly by their current franchisees.
Examining feedback from other franchise owners is one way to get unbiased advice from those who have first-hand experience with the brands you’re considering.
To assist you in gathering unbiased feedback from franchisees, Franchise Business Review surveys thousands of franchise owners representing hundreds of franchise brands. Each survey participant was asked 33 benchmark questions about their franchisor that focused on areas such as leadership, training, and core values as well 16 more personal questions concerning topics such as their business lifestyle and overall enjoyment of running their franchise. Based on these results, we are able to provide unbiased, third-party ratings of the best real estate franchises, based solely on franchisee satisfaction. Below are this year’s top-rated brands.
Top-Rated Real Estate Agency Franchises
| Franchise | Locations | Associates & Brokers | Cash Required | Initial Investment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Again Houses | 56 | NA | $100,000 | $127,000-$208,000 |
| Keller Williams | 761 | 165,000 | $150,000 | $183,430-$335,697 |
| Sotheby’s | 707 | 26,000 | $50,000 | $127,650-$512,150 |
| Weichert Real Estate | 462 | 14,200 | unknown | $62,500-326,200 |
| Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate | 343 | 12,000 | $75,000 | $113,920-$447,500 |
| NextHome | 611 | 5,500 | $4,500 | $16,250-$220,345 |
| Engel & Völkers | 280 | 16,700 | $35,690 | $91,690-423,592 |
| Realty ONE Group | 420 | 20,000 | $15,000 | $44,000-$223,000 |
| United Country Real Estate | 60 | 4,000 | $15,000 | $10,875-$50,380 |
| PropertyGuys.com | 105 | NA | $50,000 | $40,000-$90,000 |
| The Corcoran Group | 139 | 5,o00 | $75,000 | $137,550-$545,400 |
Other Real Estate Franchise Opportunities
In addition to real estate agency franchises, there are also several home-related franchise opportunities that deal with fixing and beautifying homes. The opportunities in the home services space are plentiful, ranging from painting services to property management to remodeling and more! You can peruse the top-rated brands in the list below.
Top-Rated Home Services Franchises
| Franchise | Locations | Cash Required | Initial Investment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fibrenew | 287 | $15,000 | $100,595-$121,825 |
| DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen | 43 | $200,000 | $235,075-$507,231 |
| Archadeck | 113 | $60,000 | $84,450-$118,450 |
| Kitchen Tune-Up | 289 | $81,930 | $129,930-$188,850 |
| Kitchen Solvers | 55 | $60,000 | $99,739-$134,014 |
| Superior Fence & Rail | 105 | $50,000 | $130,500-$206,800 |
| Outdoor Lighting Perspectives | 1130 | $60,000 | $99,675-$214,20 |
| Bee Organized | 45 | $70,000 | $141,416-$66,056 |
| Precision Garage Door Service | 128 | $50,000 | $137, 850-$302, 850 |
| New Creations | 98 | $82,090 | $88,420-$153,70 |
| Patchmaster | 162 | $510,000 | $86,450-$111,950 |
| Surface Specialists Systems | 48 | $25,000 | $43,000-$56,000 |
| Spray-Net | 46 | $70,000 | $99,250-$142,500 |
| Ideal Siding | 72 | $55,000 | $85,000-$114,000 |
| Five Star Bath Solutions | 259 | $100,000 | $162,000-$293, 500 |
| Five Star Painting | 254 | $50,000 | $77,765-$184,845 |
| Bloomin’ Blinds | 160 | $50,000 | $105,700-$182,100 |
| Lime Painting | 379 | $750,000 | $126,700-$227,075 |
| Go Minis | 80 | $100,000 | $208,441-$396,645 |
| Blue Moon Estate Sales | 123 | Unknown | $57,015-$113,325 |
How to Choose a Real Estate Franchise
As you narrow down your options, it can also help to ask certain questions of the brands you’re considering, such as:
- What characteristics make your top performing franchisees successful?
- If I’m a franchisee and I have a problem, what processes do you have in place to come to a fair solution that works for both of us?
- For the first few years, I understand that I will be very dependent on you and your staff to help me succeed as a franchisee. However, in the future, when I’m more self-supporting, where will I see the value from the fees that I pay you?
- What trends do you see in this industry that could have a negative impact on the business over the next decade, and what are you doing strategically to overcome these challenges?
- Do you have a franchisee satisfaction report available?
Just like Joanna and Chip Gaines transform those run down houses into to-die-for dream homes, you can transform your first career into a dream career that offers flexibility, ownership and freedom. Whether you decide to go the independent agency route, buy an existing real estate franchise or opt for a home services business, if you’ve got the drive, ambition and desire to be your own boss, the opportunities are waiting.
You can learn more about this year’s top-rated franchise brands, including the top-rated real estate franchises and top-rated home services companies here.
