Franchisor Stories

Franchise Deep Dive: Keller Williams' Franchise Costs, Fees, Profit and Data
Since its inception 40 years ago, Keller Williams has become the world’s largest real estate franchise as a result of its agent-centric business model.

Franchisor Stories

Since its inception 40 years ago, Keller Williams has become the world’s largest real estate franchise as a result of its agent-centric business model.

Keller Williams is an international real estate franchise network that specializes in residential and commercial real estate. The brand operates as a real estate brokerage and offers services such as buying, selling and renting properties.
Keller Williams, which is based in Austin, Texas, was founded in 1983 by Gary Keller and Joe Williams. The brand started offering franchise opportunities in 1987. As a result of its services, Keller Williams has been recognized as one of the highest-rated real estate companies by numerous publications, including Entrepreneur, Fortune, Franchise Times and Forbes.
Keller Williams is the world’s largest real estate franchise by agent count. The brand has more than 1,100 offices and 191K real estate agents across the globe.
Keller Williams says its business model is focused on being “agent-centric, technology-driven and education-based.” The brand emphasizes real estate agent training and development, and offers its agents comprehensive programs, online resources, and advanced tools to help them succeed as franchise owners and operators.
Keller Williams also offers a profit-sharing program, which allows agents to participate in an arrangement where a portion of the profits generated by a market center is distributed among eligible agents. The firm believes this encourages a sense of teamwork and collaboration.
According to Keller Williams’ website, franchise owners have access to the following benefits:
Keller Williams does not have a publicly available Item 19. To learn more, contact the team about reading the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), which will state the total earnings of any company or franchise-owned unit as a reference.
The total investment necessary to begin the operation of a Keller Williams franchise ranges from $183,230 to $336,980. Interested parties must also have at least $150K in liquid capital.
The initial franchise fee required to open a Keller Williams franchise is $35K.
Franchise owners must also pay an ongoing royalty fee of 6%.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only. You should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing contained on this site constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer to buy or sell any franchises, securities, or other financial instruments in this or in any other jurisdiction in which such solicitation or offer would be unlawful under the franchise and/or securities laws of such jurisdiction. All content in this article is information of a general nature and does not address the detailed circumstances of any particular individual or entity. Nothing in the article constitutes professional and/or financial advice, nor does any information in the email constitute a comprehensive or complete statement of the matters discussed or the law relating thereto. You alone assume the sole responsibility of evaluating the merits and risks associated with the use of any information or other content in this article before making any decisions based on such information or other content.
Sign up for the 1851 Franchise newsletter to get our biggest stories before everyone else
By signing up, you agree to our user agreement (including class action waiver and arbitration provisions), and acknowledge our privacy policy.
