Minneapolis Saint Paul Real Estate

There is always a debate going on in the real estate industry about which company is the largest. As some don't disclose financials and others use different measuring criteria (offices, agents, sales volume, profitability, brand recognition, etc.) we have many potential "winners".

This article is however not about who is #1 or #2 but rather what has happened to real estate franchise brands over the course of the last 20 years, and does that information in any way provide us with a trend line that may afford likely scenario's going forward.

To start off, we need to look at the most prominent brands 20 years ago; 1989. I revisited many "old" publications of those years, the REAL Trends Report and the leading Real Estate Report of the time; the Roulac Report by Deloitte, Haskins and  Sells (1988). Combining all that intel I have compiled a list of what were, in probable order, the most likely candidates for the most prominent Residential Real Estate Franchise brand of 1989.

1. Century 21
2. Coldwell Banker
3. ERA
4. RE/MAX
5. Realty World
6. Merrill Lynch
7. Red Carpet
8. Help-U-Sell
9. Gallery of Homes
10. Better Homes and Gardens

I have followed the same criteria and researched the REAL Trends Report again and the leading Real Estate Report of today, my Swanepoel TRENDS Report. The most likely candidates for the most prominent Residential Real Estate Franchise brands of 2009 are:

1. RE/MAX
2. Coldwell Banker
3. Century 21
4. Keller Williams Realty
5. Prudential Real Estate
6. ERA
7. Realty Executives
8. Sotheby's International Realty
9. GMAC Real Estate
10. EXIT Realty

Analysis:

So here is where the interesting part comes in. Although not based on any scientific hard facts, the following has occurred during the past 20 years:

• 40% have remained a Top 10 national real estate brand (C21, CB, ERA & RE/MAX).
• 20% exchanged their brand for a new brand and were still able to hold on; remaining a Top 10 brand (Merrill Lynch became Prudential and BH&G became GMAC Real Estate).
• 10% dropped off the Top 10 list but still operate as a national franchise (Realty World).
• 30% fell on even more difficult times and went through different types of trouble including bankruptcy. (Gallery of Homes, Help-U-Sell and Red Carpet). It is interesting that one  or two of the brands are staging a comeback.
• 10% of the brands on the 2009 list had improved their rankings (Realty Executives).
• 30% of the brands on the 2009 list were not even in real estate franchising back in 1989 (Keller Williams Realty, Sotheby's International Realty and EXIT Realty).

Probing Questions:

There are of course many different deductions that can be made using above information resulting in hours of interesting discussion. Due to the brevity of this article I am going to list just five observations that I think are worth consideration:

1. Will the three brands that have dominated for the past 20+ years maintain their stronghold; RE/MAX, Coldwell Banker and Century 21?
2. Will newcomer Keller Williams Realty that surged into the top 5 be able to continue its rise and unseat one of the top 3 established brands? If yes, who will be the one to loose its top 3 ranking?
3. Twenty year plus top 5 brand ERA has for the first time dropped out of the top 5. Is this a sign that they will continue a downward slide; ultimately out of the top 10?
4. Brand changers (Merrill Lynch became Prudential and BH&G became GMAC Real Estate) have shown that brands are not always that important as both survived and held on to similar top 10 rankings in 20 years. GMAC is however scheduled for another name change within the next year. Will they still be able to hold on to their top 10 ranking after a second name change?
5. Will companies such as Realty World, Red Carpet and Help-U-Sell that dropped off the top 10 and are staging a comeback be able to regain their former top 10 status? 

Closing comments:  

There and numerous new franchise brands bubbling under the radar such as Weichert Realty, Assist-to-Sell, ZipRealty and even Better Homes & Gardens (not same company as before but the same brand) that could very well be a top 10 real estate brand within the next five years.

Although this exercise was more one of fun rather than trying to predict the future, it does show us that even in the "big picture" of large national brands the world is ever changing and that anything can happen.

Love to hear your thoughts on the value of real estate brands for a brokerage and/or agent.

As always you can also follow me on www.Twitter.com/Swanepoel and www.Facebook.com/Swanepoel

Are you looking for the latest data on homes for sale and real estate statistics in the Twin Cities area? Here is a great resource for you. This information covers just about every community in the metro Minneapolis Saint Paul area and surrounding communities in Minnesota. Updated montly for your convenience so bookmark this blog for future reference.

Afton	Albertville
Andover	Annandale
Anoka	Anoka County
Apple Valley	Arden Hills
Bayport	Baytown Township
Becker	Belle Plaine
Belle Plaine Township	Bethel
Big Lake	Birchwood Village
Blaine	Blakeley Township
Bloomington	Brooklyn Center
Brooklyn Park	Buffalo
Burns Township	Burnsville
Cambridge	Camden Township
Cannon Falls	Carver
Carver County	Castle Rock Township
Cedar Lake Township	Centerville
Champlin	Chanhassen
Chaska	Chisago
Chisago County	Circle Pines
Clear Lake	Clearwater
Coates	Cokato
Cologne	Columbia Heights
Columbus	Coon Rapids
Corcoran	Cottage Grove
Credit River Township	Crystal
Dahlgren Township	Dakota County
Dayton	Delano
Dellwood	Douglas Township
Eagan	East Bethel
Eden Prairie	Edina
Elk River	Elko New Market
Empire Township	Eureka Township
Falcon Heights	Faribault
Farmington	Forest Lake
Fridley	Gem Lake
Golden Valley	Goodhue County
Grant	Greenfield
Greenvale Township	Grey Cloud Island Township
Ham Lake	Hamburg
Hammond	Hampton
Hancock Township	Hanover
Hassan Township	Hastings
Helena Township	Hennepin County
Hilltop	Hollywood Township
Hopkins	Hudson
Hugo	Independence
Inver Grove Heights	Isanti
Isanti County	Jackson Township
Jordan	Kanabec County
Kenyon	Lake Elmo
Lake Minnetonka Area	Lake St. Croix Beach
Lakeland	Lakeland Shores
Laketown Township	Lakeville
Lauderdale	Lexington
Lilydale	Lindstrom
Lino Lakes	Linwood Township
Little Canada	Lonsdale
Loretto	Louisville Township
Mahtomedi	Maple Grove
Maple Lake	Maple Plain
Maplewood	Marine on Saint Croix
Marshan Township	May Township
Mayer	Medicine Lake
Medina	Mendota
Mendota Heights	Miesville
Mille Lacs County	Minneapolis
Minnetonka	Monticello
Montrose	Mounds View
New Brighton	New Germany
New Hope	New Market
New Market Township	New Prague
New Richmond	New Scandia Township
New Trier	Newport
Nininger Township	North Branch
North Oaks	North St Paul
Northfield	Norwood Young America
Oak Grove	Oak Park Heights
Oakdale	Osseo
Otsego	Pine Springs
Plymouth	Princeton
Prior Lake	Ramsey
Ramsey County	Randolph
Randolph Township	Ravenna Township
Red Wing	Rice County
Richfield	River Falls
Robbinsdale	Rockford
Rogers	Rosemount
Roseville	Rush City
Saint Croix County	Saint Paul
San Francisco Township	Sand Creek Township
Savage	Sciota Township
Scott County	Shakopee
Sherburne County	Shoreview
Somerset	South Haven
South St. Paul	Spring Lake Park
Spring Lake Township	St. Anthony
St. Francis	St. Lawrence Township
St. Louis Park	St. Mary's Point
St. Michael	St. Paul Park
Stacy	Stillwater
Stillwater Township	Sunfish Lake
Twin Cities Region	Vadnais Heights
Vermillion	Vermillion Township
Victoria	Waconia
Waconia Township	Washington County
Waterford Township	Watertown
Watertown Township	West Lakeland Township
West St. Paul	White Bear Lake
White Bear Township	Willernie
Woodbury	Wright County
Wyoming	Young America Township
Zimmerman	Zumbrota

For more information about my services, guarantees, or how I can help you
find your next home, sell your home, buy a business or investment property.
Just call Patti Ann Kasper today at 763-548-1418!

To view my interactive on-line real estate magazine with listings of homes for sale
in the Minneapolis Saint Paul Twin Cities Metro Area, select the banner below:


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Patti Ann Kasper, Your Minnesota, North Metro Minneapolis / Saint Paul Twin Cities, and Blaine MN Real Estate Expert! Associates of Science Degree in Geographic Information Systems and Cartography from Anoka Ramsey Community College in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.
© Copyright Patti Ann Kasper 2009 All Right Reserved.

A commentary by Susan Harrison, Sr VP Web Development, EXIT Realty Corp. International

The article in RISMedia The State of Sales Training in America reminded me of conversation I had with Jeff Lobb at the Inman Conference last week.  Jeff is EXIT Realty's Technology Specialist and he has the rare skill of being fluent in both English and Tech, making sense of today's fast-paced technology for EXIT Realty agents across North America.

As we mulled over the day's sessions, Jeff spontaneously launched into a role play of how our EXIT e-Listings technology can be used in a listing appointment.  It was inspired!  Jeff, who is a real estate sales representative and a franchisee as well as a tekkie, demonstrated in that moment why internet-based learning can never replace the face-to-face experience.  Real estate is a people business, not a technology business.  The value of what Jeff demonstrated is how to take the technology knowledge and actually apply it in a one-on-one situation.   

Having said that, there is obviously value in the online learning experience too.  Jeff regularly participates in our monthly hour-long webinars with topics such is "5 Things You Should Be Doing with Technology."  Useful information - but that's all it is, information.  What good is all that information if you lack the skills to use it in your interactions with people?  Apparently the Unix Programmer's Manual states, "Now that we have all this useful information, it would be nice to do something with it. (Actually, it can be emotionally fulfilling just to get the information.  This is usually only true, however, if you have the social life of a kumquat)."   

Knowing how to tweet or update your facebook page doesn't mean you have an effective listing presentation!  Taking the information and acquiring the skills to apply it to your dealings with the public happens in the classroom setting like Jeff's popular course, not online.  As the RISMedia article quoted Dr. Lambert, "knowledge transfer on the web [is] effective, skills transfer [is] not." 

With the real estate industry starting to quietly roar its engines, now is the time to regroup, refocus and get ready to take flight! Real estate professionals now, more than ever, are looking for a springboard to get their business back on track.  The organizers of the RISMedia Leadership Conference see this need and have invited Tami Bonnell, President of the US Organization for EXIT Realty Corp. International, to be a panel member during their event taking place September 9^th and 10^th in New York City.

This annual event brings together the real estate industry's top thinkers and Ms. Bonnell will discuss the future of the industry, what trends we can expect to see as well as new ideas and what real estate professionals need to do differently in this climbing market.  The two-day event will focus on education, networking, energizing the business and gaining market share.

Ms Bonnell also hosts free monthly webinars for the general public and the real estate public; click here to register. She was also a recent guest on Lifestyle TV's The Balancing Act, a show geared for active women who are balancing working, raising a family, career and lifestyle.

For more information on registering for the Leadership Conference and witnessing first hand one of EXIT Realty's leading visionaries click here.

I was honored to be interviewed by Angie Swartz on Twittertalk Radio a couple of weeks ago. 

Angie and I spent a good portion of the first segment talking about YEO and it's origins here on ActiveRain. Her take on the segment: "Jeff Turner coined one of his taglines by accident in a blogpost he wrote for Active Rain…SEO vs. YEO. Although Jeff admits that SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is important, he purports that YEO (You Engaging Others) is by far the most essential factor in developing good content and relationships. If you focus on interesting conversations with others, you’ll likely win in all directions."

I thought I'd share the archives of those conversations with you here. 

Segment 1: Jeff Turner Talks YEO vs. SEO

Segment 2: Gaming Twitter and Jeff Turner's Fake Bott #FollowFriday Friends

Segment 3: Jeff Turner Mentors Ines Hegedus-Garcia with Mojitos

Segment 4: Rocky Turner's Story: Twitter Helps Kenya by Launching Mothers Fighting For Others

 

Top-notch speakers from all across the EXIT Realty system will be featured in our informative breakout sessions at the 11th Annual International Convention to be held from September 29th to October 3rd.  Traditionally, the rooms are packed for these sessions and this year will be no exception at the fabulous Gaylord National Hotel & Convention Center in Washington DC. 

CONVENTION BREAKOUT SPEAKERS AND TOPICS include: 

• How To Sell 100+ Houses a Year, John Farrell, Broker, Franchisee and Regional Owner, EXIT Realty Homeward Bound, NY

• The Summit of Your Real Estate Career, Valerie Reyes, Corporate Real Estate Trainer, EXIT Realty Corp. International

• Turning Green To Gold, Loretta Hughes, Broker/Owner, EXIT Realty Fusion, Regina SK

• Your Stimulus Plan, Patricia Boyer, Sales Representative, EXIT Real Estate Associates, TN

• Lead Generation Innovation, Kort Linden, Sales Representative, EXIT Desert Ocean Realty, CA

• Systems for Success - The Highly Organized Office, Sharon Hart, Manager, EXIT Realty Group, TX

• From 0-60 in 6 Months, Rick Frey, Franchisee, EXIT IH-10 Realty, TX

• Technology Unleashed, Jeff Lobb, Corporate Trainer Technology Specialist, EXIT Realty Corp. International

• Listing Ingenuity, Annette Masterson, Associate Broker, EXIT Realty Bob Lamb & Associates, TN 

• If You Think You Can…You Can, Anne Squires, Broker/Owner, EXIT Realty on the Rock, NL

• Short Sales Made Easy, Trish Nash, Broker/Owner, EXIT Realty Unlimited, NV

• Brokers: Big Bucks No Matter What the Market, John Tiller, Broker/Owner, EXIT Elite Realty, VA

Register now for the event of the year by logging into the EXIT Resource Center. 

Tami Bonnell, President of the US Organization of EXIT Realty Corp. International appeared on national television this morning as a guest on Lifetime's The Balancing Act, a show geared for active women who are balancing working, raising a family, career and lifestyle.  

When people are considering buying or selling real estate, "The most important thing to share [with your real estate professional] is why - why are you moving?  Are you moving because you want to take advantage of the first time homebuyer market?  Are you relocating? Are you under financial duress? The more you share, the more they can give you a better return on your investment," said Bonnell.

Watch the interview here.   

Bonnell also hosts two monthly live webinars; one for the general public to answer the most frequently asked real estate questions and another for real estate professionals.  Click here to register.     

For more information on how EXIT Realty can help you buy or sell your home, or for information regarding a career in real estate or franchise ownership, please contact us.