Widely regarded in the industry as a business network it doesn’t have tight multiple year franchise agreements with its affiliates, but then again similar to a franchise neither does it own the brokerages within the group. However, what justifies the inclusion of Leading RE in the Top Ten is that collectively it’s a monster of a group with 122,000 agents that generated a combined annual home sales volume of over $400 billion in 2006.

Leading RE is the largest assembly of locally branded real estate companies in the country – basically those that have chosen not to go the franchise route. As there are usually one or two large independents in every major market it’s not surprising that due to size alone, their affiliates are often the market leaders in their respective areas - approximately 40 of the #1 firms in the top 85 markets.

Similar to a traditional franchise, Leading RE is a multi-dimensional business resource for affiliated firms offering a wide array of services. Key areas of focus are lead generation (broker referrals, web leads and corporate relocation referrals) and market segmentation outreach (programs to reach luxury consumers and other segments including multicultural, seniors, REO/institutional clients, second home buyers and generational consumers, etc.).