Founded in 1983, Keller Williams Realty Inc. is an international real estate company with more than 600 offices located across the United States and Canada. The company began franchising in 1991, and following years of phenomenal growth and success, became the fourth-largest U.S. residential real estate firm in North America in 2006. The company has succeeded by treating its associates as partners and shares its knowledge, policy control and company profits on a system-wide basis.

 

The interdependent business model of Keller Williams Realty supports agents and brokers working as a team to maximize personal productivity and company profits.

Most real estate companies operate on a dependent model where the broker provides leads to salespeople and then offers them a commission, or they operate on an independent model where agents receive minimal support from the broker but keep more of the commission. In contrast to these traditional models, the Keller Williams model fosters a synergistic environment where both parties succeed through teamwork, by encouraging agents and brokers to share their best practices with each other and reward associates who help the company to grow. It is these industry-changing philosophies that have fueled the recent growth of Keller Williams Realty past older, more established companies to claim a top-four spot in the real estate industry.