Profile of Real Estate Firms

Highlights

Eighty-one percent of real estate firms had a single office, typically with two full-time real estate licensees.
Eighty-six percent of firms were independent, non-franchised companies, and 11 percent were independent franchised companies.
Eighty-two percent specialized in residential brokerage.
The typical residential firm had been operating for 14 years, while the typical commercial firm had been operating for 23 years.
Fifty-seven percent of firms expected profitability (net income) from all real estate activities to increase in the next year, and that number jumped to 63 percent of firms with four or more offices.
Keeping up with technology, competition from nontraditional market participants, and housing affordability were among the biggest challenges cited for firms in the next two years.