Keller Williams Realty Continues Growth in 2007

Company reports positive numbers despite sluggish real estate market

AUSTIN, TEXAS (February 27, 2008) —Keller Williams® Realty Inc., the fourth largest real estate company in North America, announced positive growth numbers for 2007, showing an expansion in market centers to 659 and a growth in its roster of active licensees to 79,643.

CEO Mark Willis emphasizes the significance of the company’s growth given the well-publicized downturn in the real estate market.  “Research shows that the U.S. residential real estate market peaked in late 2005. In 2006 and 2007, the market experienced a two year decline of more than 20 percent in closed units,” says Willis. Yet, during that same period, Keller Williams Realty’s sales increased 8.4 percent. That means that over the last two years our company’s market share has increased by 36 percent nationwide.”

“During the same two year period, we have seen a 42 percent increase in gross commission income and a 25 percent increase in the profit that we return to our associates through profit sharing,” adds Willis.

“We have been overwhelmed by the positivity of our associates and their willingness to think outside the box to continue growing despite this market,” says Mary Tennant, president and COO.  “We are optimistic that the trend will continue upward if we give our associates the highest level of support and cutting edge tools.”

In 2007, the company implemented several new initiatives to assist its agents as the downturn in the real estate market became big news. The company launched Operation Heart to Heart 2, a training initiative designed to help agents and market centers survive in today’s market.

Operation Heart to Heart 2 offerings included a new Website authored by Keller Williams Chairman Gary Keller,(www.agentmountain.com) featuring audio, video and other materials relevant in today’s market; a new nationwide skills-based seminar tour, Thriving in a Shifting Market; a Web portal for scripts, training products and more; and new market-specific agent guidebooks that teach associates how to take advantage of the opportunities of the current real estate market.

“Our goal in 2007 was to support our associates with the best educational opportunities in the industry so that they are positioned to gain market share and emerge from this market stronger than before,” adds Willis. “I am confident that our associates are going to make the most of this shift and will come out ahead as the dominant real estate brokers and agents in their local markets.”

Along with support through Operation Heart to Heart 2, the company rolled out a variety of new technological offerings to associates. Through an agreement with WolfNet™ Technologies, Keller Williams’ IDX vendor, agents have the ability to display all MLS listings directly on their Websites – ensuring that once buyers are on their Websites, they won’t have to go anywhere else to search for properties within their market.

The year also saw the development and cementing of Keller Williams new lead routing philosophy – dubbed, “My Listings, My Leads.” Rewriting the rules on how leads are distributed to its agents from online listings, the company applied this new philosophy to two of its technological advancements this year.

The Keller Williams Listing System (KWLS) provides agents with increased exposure for their listings online. When an agent enters their listing into the KWLS, the listing is automatically displayed on their own Website, their office Website, KW.com, as well as more than 100 popular home search engine Websites, including: Trulia, Google, Yahoo!, Homescape, Cyberhomes, AOL, Point2Homes, Unique Global Estates and Yuvie. Every lead generated from these listings goes directly back to the listing agent.

KW.com was also revamped to serve as a property search engine for home buyers and a lead generation Website for associates. All inquiries on Keller Williams listings from KW.com are routed directly back to the listing agent.“What distinguishes the Keller Williams technology platform is that it is being developed with an overarching emphasis on our associates,” says Dave Therrien, Chief Technology Officer. “We believe that our success lies in our associates’ hands, and our technology offerings are a strong reflection of that agent-centric culture.”

This entry was posted on Friday, April 25th, 2008 at 2:28 pm and is filed under Keller Williams' NEWS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.