RE/MAX

RE/MAX, short for Real Estate Maximums, is an American international real estate company that operates through a franchise system.

As of 2015, RE/MAX had more than 100,000 agents in 6,800 offices. RE/MAX operates in over 100 countries and territories.

Early history: 1970–76
RE/MAX was founded in January 1973 by Dave Liniger and Gail Main (who later married Liniger and became Gail Liniger) in Denver, Colorado.

The company was established with a maximum commission concept, meaning that agents would keep nearly all of their commissions and pay their broker a share of the office expenses, rather than paying their broker a share of the commission of each sale, which is common in residential real estate.

In 1975, Dennis Curtin purchased the first RE/MAX franchise outside of Colorado, in Kansas City, Missouri. The company grew to 100 franchises in two years. RE/MAX held its first convention in Las Vegas in 1976, which became an annual event.

International expansion: 1977–98
RE/MAX opened its first office outside the United States in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1977, started by Don Fernie as RE/MAX South. By 1981, the company had 30 franchises in Canada, and in 1987, RE/MAX became the top real estate company in Canada.

In 1978, the RE/MAX Hot Air Balloon—a red, white and blue hot air balloon—was introduced, taking its maiden flight at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta in New Mexico. A year later in 1979, the balloon became the company's official logo.

In 1994, the company expanded outside North America with the establishment of RE/MAX Europe. Regional operations expanded in Germany, Italy, Spain, and South Africa.

In November 1994, the RE/MAX Satellite Network (RSN; renamed RE/MAX University in the 2000s)—a satellite training system for real estate—was launched in the US, debuting at the National Association of Realtors Convention in Anaheim, California. The RSN offered training, professional designation courses, and company news.

RE/MAX expanded to Australia and New Zealand in 1996.

In 1998, Liniger attempted the first manned balloon flight around the world in a stratospheric gas balloon. The flight was canceled due to design and weather problems.

Online expansion and IPO: 2006–present
In 2006, RE/MAX began to list all U.S. homes for sale on its website, including homes being sold by competitors. By 2009, the company had franchises in 70 countries.

In April 2010, the Obama administration announced the "Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives" (HAFA) program. The day the announcement was made, leaders from the U.S. Treasury Department and Bank of America participated in a live, national broadcast detailing the initiative at RE/MAX Headquarters in Denver. By 2011, the company had more than 6,000 franchises.

In 2013, UN Special Rapporteur Richard Falk released a report which alleged that real estate groups, such as RE/MAX, found to promote or sell properties in Israeli settlements may be held liable for complicity in the crime of promoting settlement activity in occupied territory. As of November 2015, RE/MAX Israel was still selling properties in 18 different Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

RE/MAX Holdings Inc raised $220 million in its initial public offering (IPO) in 2013. A secondary offering was completed of approximately $185 million in November 2015. REMAX Holdings owns 58.3% and RIHI owns 41.7% of RE/MAX LLC. Total diluted share count (public and private) as of December 31, 2015, was 30.2 million shares.

The company expanded into China in 2014 by opening an office in Beijing. The company had more than 15,000 agents in Europe. As of 2016, RE/MAX operates in about 100 countries and has more than 115 hot air balloons in operation, the largest corporate hot air balloon fleet in the world.

In 2016, they named Re/Max Results, a franchisee covering most of Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin as their largest franchisee with more than 1200 agents, and averaging more than 20 transactions per agent.

In 2018, former president of the company Geoff Lewis, and Liniger stepped down from their roles to retire. Responsibilities were handed to CEO Adam Contos. In 2018 it was announced that Liniger had violated company ethics with a multi-million-dollar loan of his own personal money to Contos.

Subsidiaries
In addition to RE/MAX LLC, RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. owns two other brands.

Motto Mortgage (Motto Franchising, LLC) is the first national mortgage brokerage franchise brand in the United States. Motto was launched by RE/MAX in 2016.

Wemlo (stylized as wemlo) is a fintech company that provides third-party mortgage loan processing services. The company was founded in early 2019 as a startup in Florida by David Rogove and Steven Gelley. RE/MAX Holdings announced its acquisition of wemlo on September 1, 2020.

Philanthropy
In 1992, RE/MAX became a sponsor of Children's Miracle Network. The company hosts art auctions, organizes golf tournaments, and encourages agent fundraising activities. Collectively, all RE/MAX affiliates have raised $147 million for the Children's Miracle Network hospitals in over 20 years of sponsorship.

In 2002, the company became a sponsor of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Race For The Cure events in the United States.

Local offices use hot air balloons for educational programs and non-profit organization fundraisers.

Recognition
RE/MAX University has been featured in Training Magazine's Top 125 US Organizations recognizing employee development.