The Sabol Assciates Team and all of Keller Williams North Central here in Leominster are proud to be part of history.

Keller Williams Realty Inc. has grown to become the third-largest residential real estate franchise in the United States by number of associates, according to 2008 figures from industry publication Real Trends.

Austin-based Keller Williams had 72,794 U.S. associates at the end of last year, overtaking RE/MAX International as the third-largest domestic real estate franchise, Real Trends data show.

From 2006 to 2008, Keller Williams increased its associate count by 52 percent, while market share for its offices increased 83 percent and agent gross commission income went up 35 percent, the company said. Currently, the company has 679 offices operating in the United States. In Austin, Keller Williams has more than 1,800 employees.

"The success of Keller Williams Realty can be directly attributed to the hard work and perseverance of our associates and the soundness of our economic and organizational models," said Mark Willis, CEO of Keller Williams. "While others might be looking at this market and seeing fear and uncertainty, we have always approached it as our opportunity to shine and grow. And that mindset has paid off."

Last fall, the company announced the launch of KW Commercial, a new division of dedicated to providing commercial real estate associates with specialized technology, marketing tools and resources. KW Commercial already has more than 220 active brokers across the U.S. and Canada.

-© 2009 American City Business Journals, Inc.
http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2009/03/02/daily9.html