The Bengel Blog

It was the sound of $86 million in Keller Williams market share in New England going to RE/MAX:

A 45-agent Keller Williams office in Framingham, Mass., converted to RE/MAX in October, giving the network a huge market share boost with the creation of RE/MAX Best Choice Real Estate.

New Broker/Owner Annette Norton, who had been with Keller Williams for five years, most recently as the office manager, chose RE/MAX because of its powerful brand name and the tools, culture and support offered by the network. Fiona Beecy, Regional Director of Operations for RE/MAX of New England, worked with Norton to convert the office and attract the new agents to RE/MAX.

“As much as I believed in the Keller Williams model, I wanted to look at my options and see what other opportunities were out there,” Norton says. “I finally decided RE/MAX was the way to go. RE/MAX of New England’s support totally blew me away through this transition. We are very fortunate to have incredible agents who accounted for more than 96 percent of the business at the former office join us over at RE/MAX. Everyone is happy with the transition.”

One of those happy top producers is Jim Coady. The Sales Associate with RE/MAX Best Choice was drawn to the network because of its reputation for having top producers. Coady is already seeing a boost in business, he says.

“The RE/MAX name is synonymous with top producers, and it’s a well-known fact that RE/MAX agents do more business than Keller Williams agents,” Coady says. “Nothing compares to the support and technology RE/MAX offers, such as Imprev, Mainstreet and LeadStreet.”

Broker Associate Faye Winer, who was one of the first Keller Williams agents in New England, couldn’t agree more. The real estate veteran of more than 30 years says that although change is never easy, she’s up for the challenge. And with guidance from the region and Norton, Winer is already hard at work to turn her business around.

“RE/MAX of New England and our fellow Associates have been so warm and welcoming,” Winer says. “I’m looking forward to turning what has been a dismal economic year into a better 2010 with RE/MAX.”

The addition of the new agents and rebranding of the office represents an $86 million market swing in the Framingham area, says RE/MAX of New England Regional Director Jay Hummer. The region held a kickoff day to welcome the new office and its agents by flying in Broker/Owner Deb Stevens of RE/MAX Results Realty in Maple Ridge, British Columbia. Stevens, who had been with Keller Williams for seven years, converted her 145-agent brokerage to RE/MAX earlier this year. RE/MAX of New England also invited the new agents to its fall sales rally in Providence, R.I., which included technology training, speakers and plenty of educational sessions.

“This is a great group of agents who are led by an incredible Broker/Owner,” Hummer says. “One of the new agents said that the sales rally was unlike anything they had on the regional level at Keller Williams. We’ve worked hard to help the new agents see the value of the RE/MAX brand through our regional efforts.”

By Deborah Ball, RE/MAX Times Online Associate Editor