Founded in 1983, Keller Williams
Realty Inc. is an international real estate company
with more than 600 offices located across the United
States and Canada. The company began franchising in
1991, and following years of phenomenal growth and
success, became the fourth-largest U.S. residential
real estate firm in North America in 2006. The
company has succeeded by treating its associates as
partners and shares its knowledge, policy control
and company profits on a system-wide basis.
The interdependent business model of Keller Williams
Realty supports agents and brokers working as a team
to maximize personal productivity and company
profits.
Most real estate companies operate on a dependent
model where the broker provides leads to salespeople
and then offers them a commission, or they operate
on an independent model where agents receive minimal
support from the broker but keep more of the
commission. In contrast to these traditional models,
the Keller Williams model fosters a synergistic
environment where both parties succeed through
teamwork, by encouraging agents and brokers to share
their best practices with each other and reward
associates who help the company to grow. It is these
industry-changing philosophies that have fueled the
recent growth of Keller Williams Realty past older,
more established companies to claim a top-four spot
in the real estate industry.