RE/MAX

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Real estate brokerage company

title: "RE/MAX" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["franchises", "real-estate-companies-established-in-1973", "real-estate-services-companies-of-the-united-states", "american-companies-established-in-1973", "companies-based-in-denver"] description: "Real estate brokerage company" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RE/MAX" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Real estate brokerage company ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox company"]

Field	Value
name	RE/MAX Holdings, Inc.
logo	REMAX logo.svg
logo_size	200px
type	Public
image	Remax HQ, Shanahan's Crop.jpg
image_size	200px
image_caption	RE/MAX Headquarters in the Denver Technological Center.
traded_as	(Class A)
industry	Real estate
foundation
founders	Dave Liniger
Gail Liniger (formerly Main)
location	Denver, Colorado, USA
key_people
revenue	$307 million (2024)
subsid
homepage
::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Remax_balloon_quebec_2005.jpeg" caption="The RE/MAX [[hot air balloon]] at a balloon festival. RE/MAX introduced its hot air balloon logo in 1978 as part of its "Above the Crowd" advertising campaign."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/REMAXOffice3.jpg" caption="RE/MAX office in Canada"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/REMAXBusinessBuildingSoldSign.jpg" caption="Business building listed by RE/MAX"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/REMAXForSaleSignUnionville3.jpg" caption="RE/MAX ''For Sale'' sign"] ::

RE/MAX (officially RE/MAX Holdings, Inc., and short for Real Estate Maximums) is an international real estate franchise operating in over 100 countries and territories that, in 2015, had over 100,000 agents in 6,800 offices.

History

Early history: 1970–76

RE/MAX was founded in 1973 by Dave Liniger and Gail Main in Denver, Colorado.

It was established with a maximum commission concept, meaning that agents would keep nearly all of their commissions and pay their broker a share of the office expenses, rather than paying their broker a share of the commission of each sale, which is common in residential real estate.

In 1975, Dennis Curtin purchased the first RE/MAX franchise outside of Colorado, in Kansas City, Missouri. Growing to 100 franchises in two years, it has held an annual convention since its first one was held in Las Vegas in 1976.

International expansion: 1977–98

It opened its first office outside the U.S. in 1977, when Don Fernie started RE/MAX South in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Having 30 Canadian franchises by 1981, RE/MAX became the top real estate company in that country six years later.

Having made its inaugural flight at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta in New Mexico, the RE/MAX Hot Air Balloon—a red, white and blue hot air balloon—was introduced in 1978, becoming its official logo the following year. Expanding beyond North America with the formation of RE/MAX Europe in 1994, it also began operating in Germany, Italy, Spain, and South Africa.

In November 1994, RE/MAX Satellite Network was launched in the US as a sales training system for real estate. Later renamed RE/MAX University, it debuted at the NAR Convention in Anaheim, California, and offered training, professional designation courses, and company news.

In 1998, two years after his company expanded into Australia and New Zealand, Liniger attempted the first manned balloon flight around the world in a stratospheric gas balloon. The flight was canceled due to design and weather problems.{{cite web| url=https://hypertextbook.com/facts/1997/CassandraEng.shtml | title=Altitude of the highest manned balloon flight| first=Cassandra| last=Eng| year=1997| website=The Physics Factbook| editor-last=Elert| editor-first=Glenn| access-date=2018-07-06}}

Online expansion and IPO: 2006–present

In 2006, three years before it was reported that its franchises were present in 70 countries, RE/MAX began to list all U.S. homes for sale on its website, including homes being sold by competitors. By 2011, the company already had more than 6,000 franchises.

In April 2010, the Obama administration announced the "Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives" (HAFA) program. Leaders from the U.S. Treasury Department and the Bank of America detailed the initiative while participating in a live national broadcast held at RE/MAX headquarters.

In 2013, UN Special Rapporteur Richard Falk released a report which alleged that real estate groups, such as RE/MAX, found to promote or sell properties in Israeli settlements may be held liable for complicity in the crime of promoting settlement activity in occupied territory. In 2015, RE/MAX Israel was still selling properties in 18 different Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

With over 15,000 agents in Europe, the company expanded into China by opening an office in Beijing.

In November 2015, two years after its first IPO raised $220 million, RE/MAX Holdings Inc completed its second offering of approximately $185 million, holding a 58.3% stake and RIHI owns 41.7% of RE/MAX LLC. Total diluted share count (public and private) as of December 31 was 30.2 million shares.

Operating in about 100 countries, RE/MAX maintained the largest corporate fleet of hot air balloons in the world (115) in 2016. Furthermore, covering Minnesota and Wisconsin, RE/MAX Results was declared its largest franchise, with 1,200 agents and an average of 20 transactions per agent.

Two years later, former president Geoff Lewis and Liniger retired after leaving their roles, with responsibilities passing to CEO Adam Contos. That same year, it was reported that he had violated the firm's ethics by lending a multimillion-dollar sum of his own personal money to Contos.

Subsidiaries

In addition to RE/MAX LLC, RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. owns two other brands.

Motto Mortgage (Motto Franchising, LLC) is the first national mortgage brokerage franchise brand in the United States. Motto was launched by RE/MAX in 2016.

Wemlo (stylized as wemlo) is a fintech company that provides third-party mortgage loan processing services. The company was founded in early 2019 as a startup in Florida by David Rogove and Steven Gelley. RE/MAX Holdings announced its acquisition of wemlo on September 1, 2020.

Philanthropy

In 1992, RE/MAX became a sponsor of Children's Miracle Network. The company hosts art auctions, organizes golf tournaments, and encourages agent fundraising activities. Collectively, all RE/MAX affiliates have raised $147 million for the Children's Miracle Network hospitals in over 20 years of sponsorship.

In 2002, the company became a sponsor of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Race For The Cure events in the United States.

Local offices use hot air balloons for educational programs and non-profit organization fundraisers.

Recognition

RE/MAX University has been featured in Training Magazines Top 125 US Organizations recognizing employee development.

References

(20 February 2025). "RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter 2024 Results". RE/MAX Holdings, Inc..
(2020-09-01). "RE/MAX Holdings Announces the Acquisition of Mortgage Processing Startup wemlo".
Carol Patton. (1 June 2005). "RE/MAX: Training With A Competitive Advantage". Via Satellite.
John Rebchook. (20 October 2009). "RE/MAX ranks high on franchise list". Denver Real Estate Watch.
Dinah Eng. (19 August 2009). "Surviving recession #5: The Re/Max startup story". CNN.
"RE/MAX History {{!}} RE/MAX Newsroom".
Mike Taylor. (October 2001). "Remax World Wide". ColoradoBiz.
(11 November 2015). "KCH&S Real Estate Experts 2015".
Larry Parman. (30 June 2013). "Above the Fray: Leading Yourself, Your Business and Others During Turbulent Times". Morgan James Publishing.
(13 December 2004). "Everybody Wins: The Story and Lessons Behind RE/MAX". John Wiley & Sons.
(2001-03-01). "Who's Who in Canadian Business 2001". University of Toronto Press.
(28 August 2005). "Re/Max Western Canada". Calgary Herald.
(15 August 2013). "Old Home Day Icon to Rise Again this Year". Londonderry News.
"RE/MAX Celebrates the 35th Anniversary of Its Iconic Hot Air Balloon". PR Newswire.
Garry Marr. (11 October 2012). "One Canadian real estate pro's journey to cash in on Europe". Financial Post.
(August 2016). "Sudden death of RE/MAX Australia founder Don Marion shocks real estate industry". Courier Mail.
Tom Hamilton. "Around the World by Balloon". Balloon Life.
(27 December 1998). "Latest balloon quest to shoot for stratosphere". CNN.
Michael Cannell. (16 November 1998). "Around the World in a Balloon". Science World.
Blanche Evans. (16 August 1998). "What You Didn't Know About Liniger's Space Balloon Mission". Realty Times.
Kristi Arellano. (19 August 2005). "Re/Max International to post all U.S. homes for sale on its Web site". The Denver Post.
Blanche Evans. (16 August 2005). "RE/MAX to open national IDX website". Realty Times.
"About RE/MAX LLC". Entrepreneur Magazine.
(2019-07-02). "The Routledge Handbook of Housing Policy and Planning". Routledge.
Carrie Bay. "Government, Agents, Lenders, Vendors: One United Force When It Comes to HAFA". DSNews.
[https://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/296CF21249B48B5B85257C0D00684C44#bmk56 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 (A/68/376, 10 September 2013, Item 69 (c))]
(October 30, 2013). "US, European finances tied to Israeli settlements". UPI.
Murtaza Hussain: [https://theintercept.com/2016/02/11/why-is-remax-selling-properties-in-illegal-israeli-settlements/ Why is RE/MAX selling properties in illegal Israeli settlements?] [[The Intercept]], 11 February 2016
"RE/MAX Global Presence Hits Major Milestone". CNN Money.
Duprey, Rich. (2013-10-02). "RE/MAX Begins Trading on NYSE After IPO".
"RE/MAX Co-Founder Files to Sell Shares – 24/7 Wall St.".
(26 February 2016). "10-K: RE/MAX HOLDINGS, INC".
(2 October 2013). "Re/Max Gains After $220 Million IPO Priced Above Target". Bloomberg.
Michael J. De La Merced. (19 August 2013). "Re/Max Files for I.P.O. As Housing Market Continues Upswing". The New York Times.
"RE/MAX China Open for Business". PR Newswire.
(18 September 2016). "RE/MAX Hosts Successful Global Franchise Sales Summit in Thailand". RIS Media.
"Largest Re/Max Franchisee". Real Trends.
(12 February 2018). "President Geoff Lewis To Retire". RealTrends.
"Dave Liniger officially steps down at Re/Max, Adam Contos takes over as sole CEO". Inman.
(22 February 2018). "Re/Max founder David Liniger violated ethics code with $2.38M loan to executive, company finds". The Denver Post.
"Children's Miracle Network".
"Creating Real Miracles by Raising Funds for Local Hospitals". Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.
(4 March 2002). "RE/MAX Sponsors Komen's "Race for the Cure"". Realty Times.
(10 February 2015). "Training Magazine Ranks 2015 Top 125 Organizations". Training Magazine.

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