Press Release
Weichert, Realtors® Signs Its 300th Franchise Office
1/11/2007
MORRIS PLAINS, N.J. – Weichert Real Estate Affiliates, Inc., the franchise arm of Weichert, Realtors®, has announced the signing of its 300th franchise office. The much-anticipated milestone came just five short months after the rapidly growing franchise organization marked its 250th office signing. Since launching its first independently owned and operated franchise in January 2002, Weichert Real Estate Affiliates has grown to more than 6,000 sales associates in 29 states.
Speeding Weichert to its 300th signed office milestone was the recent affiliation of Blake & Davis, a venerable Missouri real estate firm that opened its first office in St. Louis 58 years ago. Kelly Shaw, one of the broker/owners of the new WEICHERT, REALTORS® - Blake & Davis, said, “We researched many franchise opportunities and found Weichert to be the best choice in the industry, offering a winning combination of culture and high quality as the customer defines it.”
Weichert franchise offices are starting to blanket the nation. Affiliated offices signed in the second half of 2006 spanned the East Coast from New Hampshire to Florida, embraced all the Great Lakes states, and swept all the way to the West Coast, taking in the states of Missouri, Kansas, Texas, Colorado, Utah, and California.
“Naturally, we’re elated by our accelerating pace of expansion,” said Martin J. Rueter, president of Weichert Real Estate Affiliates. “Word-of-mouth within the broker community is working extremely well for us in terms of differentiating the Weichert franchise from other major players. From what our regional people tell us, broker-owners across the country are hearing good things about the effectiveness of Weichert systems, so they’re very receptive to exploring how an affiliation can transform their business.”
The franchise organization’s most explosive growth has been in Florida, where 80 affiliated offices are integrating Weichert’s proven systems into every aspect of their business, from recruiting, training, and strategic planning to listing presentations, open houses, and leads generation and management. Last fall, the Weichert franchise entered the Sunshine State’s Emerald Coast when the former Anchor Realty and Mortgage Co., with six offices and four satellite centers in the greater Tallahassee area, affiliated as WEICHERT, REALTORS® - Anchor.
The Weichert business model for franchisees is a dynamic, yet highly flexible platform for growth, firmly grounded in ongoing consulting and support. The company’s business consultants – all of whom managed a successful real estate office in the past – align closely with new franchisees to smooth the transition. Afterwards, the consultants connect regularly with franchise owners to help them make maximum use of Weichert tools and systems and stay on track with their goals.
Rueter expects the company’s 2007 growth to leap well ahead of its impressive 2006 performance. Several signed affiliated offices are scheduled to open in January, and additional openings are already slated for succeeding months.
Rueter said, “As we grow, what’s most important to us, and to our affiliate members, is that the companies who take on the Weichert name share our customer-centric values. Whether a customer is in a Weichert affiliate in Kansas City, or a Weichert, Realtors company-owned office in Greenwich, CT., that customer should experience the same high level of service. As long as we can consistently deliver that, there’s no limit on how far or how fast we can grow.”
Weichert has nearly 18,500 sales associates in more than 480 company-owned and franchised sales offices in key markets throughout the U.S. A family of full-service real estate and financial services companies, Weichert helps customers buy and sell both residential and commercial real estate, and streamlines the delivery of mortgages and home and title insurance. For more information, call Weichert's customer service center at 1-800-USA-SOLD or visit Weichert's Web site, www.weichert.com. Each Weichert franchised office is independently owned and operated.