Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 6, 2026

RE/MAX

RE/MAX 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.

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Jun 6, 2026
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RE/MAX Holdings, Inc.
Company type
Public
NYSE: RMAX (Class A)
IndustryReal estate
FoundedJanuary 30, 1973 (January 30, 1973)
FoundersDave Liniger
Gail Liniger (formerly Main)
HeadquartersDenver, Colorado, U.S.
Key people
  • Karri Callahan, CFO
  • Grady Ligon, CIO
RevenueDecrease $307 million (2024)1
Subsidiaries
  • RE/MAX, LLC
  • Motto Mortgage
  • wemlo
Websitewww.remax.com
RE/MAX office in Kirstenhof, Cape Town, South Africa source ↗
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. source ↗
RE/MAX office in Canada source ↗
Business building listed by RE/MAX source ↗
RE/MAX For Sale sign source ↗

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 territories2 that, in 2015, had over 100,000 agents in 6,800 offices.3

History

Early history: 1973–76

RE/MAX was founded in 1973 by Dave Liniger and Gail Main in Denver, Colorado.456

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.7

In 1975, Dennis Curtin purchased the first RE/MAX franchise outside of Colorado, in Kansas City, Missouri.8 Growing to 100 franchises in two years,910 it has held an annual convention since its first one was held in Las Vegas in 1976.10

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.11 Having 30 Canadian franchises by 1981, RE/MAX became the top real estate company in that country six years later.12

Having made its inaugural flight at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta in New Mexico,6 the RE/MAX Hot Air Balloon—a red, white and blue hot air balloon—was introduced in 1978,1314 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.15

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,6 and offered training, professional designation courses, and company news.3

In 1998, two years after his company expanded into Australia and New Zealand,16 Liniger attempted the first manned balloon flight around the world in a stratospheric gas balloon.17181920 The flight was canceled due to design and weather problems.21

Online expansion and IPO: 2006–present

In 2006, three years before it was reported that its franchises were present in 70 countries,4 RE/MAX began to list all U.S. homes for sale on its website, including homes being sold by competitors.2223 By 2011, the company already had more than 6,000 franchises.24

In April 2010, the Obama administration announced the "Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives" (HAFA) program.25 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.26

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.2728 In 2015, RE/MAX Israel was still selling properties in 18 different Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.29

With over 15,000 agents in Europe, the company expanded into China by opening an office in Beijing.30

In November 2015, two years after its first IPO raised $220 million,31 RE/MAX Holdings Inc completed its second offering of approximately $185 million,32 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.333435

Operating in about 100 countries, RE/MAX maintained the largest corporate fleet of hot air balloons in the world (115) in 2016.3637 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.38

Two years later, former president Geoff Lewis39 and Liniger40 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.41

Proposed acquisition by The Real Brokerage (2026)

In April 2026, RE/MAX Holdings announced a definitive agreement to be acquired by The Real Brokerage Inc. (NASDAQ: REAX), a technology-focused real estate brokerage, in a transaction implying an enterprise value of approximately $880 million. Under the terms, a new holding company named Real REMAX Group would be formed; RE/MAX Holdings shareholders may elect to receive either 5.152 shares of Real REMAX Group or $13.80 in cash per share (based on Real's closing price on April 24, 2026), subject to proration, with aggregate cash consideration capped between $60 million and $80 million. Real shareholders would receive one share of Real REMAX Group for each share held, and are expected to own approximately 59% of the combined company upon closing. The REMAX and Motto Mortgage brands are to continue operating independently within the group.

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to regulatory approval and approval by shareholders of both companies. It is not subject to a financing condition; Real secured a $550 million commitment arranged by Morgan Stanley and Apollo Global Funding to refinance RE/MAX Holdings' existing debt and fund the cash consideration.42

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 2016.2

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, 2020.2

Philanthropy

In 1992, RE/MAX became a sponsor of Children's Miracle Network.43 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.44

In 2002, the company became a sponsor of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Race For The Cure events in the United States.45

Local offices use hot air balloons for educational programs and non-profit organization fundraisers.13

Recognition

RE/MAX University has been featured in Training Magazine's Top 125 US Organizations recognizing employee development.46

See also

See also

References

References

  1. "RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter 2024 Results" (PDF). RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. 20 February 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  2. "RE/MAX Holdings Announces the Acquisition of Mortgage Processing Startup wemlo". Motto Mortgage. 2020-09-01. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  3. Carol Patton (1 June 2005). "RE/MAX: Training With A Competitive Advantage". Via Satellite. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  4. John Rebchook (20 October 2009). "RE/MAX ranks high on franchise list". Denver Real Estate Watch. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  5. Dinah Eng (19 August 2009). "Surviving recession #5: The Re/Max startup story". CNN. Archived from the original on February 20, 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  6. "RE/MAX History | RE/MAX Newsroom". www.remax.com. Archived from the original on 2014-08-31.
  7. Mike Taylor (October 2001). "Remax World Wide". ColoradoBiz.
  8. "KCH&S Real Estate Experts 2015". Issuu. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  9. Larry Parman (30 June 2013). Above the Fray: Leading Yourself, Your Business and Others During Turbulent Times. Morgan James Publishing.
  10. Phil Harkins; Keith Hollihan (13 December 2004). Everybody Wins: The Story and Lessons Behind RE/MAX. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9780471710240.
  11. Holmes, Gillian K.; Davidson, Evelyn (2001-03-01). Who's Who in Canadian Business 2001. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-920966-60-0.
  12. "Re/Max Western Canada". Calgary Herald. A Century of Success. 28 August 2005.
  13. "Old Home Day Icon to Rise Again this Year". Londonderry News. 15 August 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  14. "RE/MAX Celebrates the 35th Anniversary of Its Iconic Hot Air Balloon" (Press release). PR Newswire.
  15. Garry Marr (11 October 2012). "One Canadian real estate pro's journey to cash in on Europe". Financial Post. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  16. "Sudden death of RE/MAX Australia founder Don Marion shocks real estate industry". Courier Mail. August 2016.
  17. Tom Hamilton. "Around the World by Balloon". Balloon Life. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  18. "Latest balloon quest to shoot for stratosphere". CNN. 27 December 1998. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  19. Michael Cannell (16 November 1998). "Around the World in a Balloon". Science World.
  20. Blanche Evans (16 August 1998). "What You Didn't Know About Liniger's Space Balloon Mission". Realty Times. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  21. Eng, Cassandra (1997). Elert, Glenn (ed.). "Altitude of the highest manned balloon flight". The Physics Factbook. Retrieved 2018-07-06.
  22. Kristi Arellano (19 August 2005). "Re/Max International to post all U.S. homes for sale on its Web site". The Denver Post.
  23. Blanche Evans (16 August 2005). "RE/MAX to open national IDX website". Realty Times. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  24. "About RE/MAX LLC". Entrepreneur Magazine. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  25. Anacker, Katrin B.; Nguyen, Mai Thi; Varady, David P. (2019-07-02). The Routledge Handbook of Housing Policy and Planning. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-28269-3.
  26. Carrie Bay. "Government, Agents, Lenders, Vendors: One United Force When It Comes to HAFA". DSNews. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  27. 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))
  28. "US, European finances tied to Israeli settlements". UPI. October 30, 2013. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  29. Murtaza Hussain: Why is RE/MAX selling properties in illegal Israeli settlements? The Intercept, 11 February 2016
  30. "RE/MAX Global Presence Hits Major Milestone". CNN Money. Archived from the original on January 18, 2016.
  31. Duprey, Rich (2013-10-02). "RE/MAX Begins Trading on NYSE After IPO". The Motley Fool. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  32. "RE/MAX Co-Founder Files to Sell Shares – 24/7 Wall St". Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  33. "10-K: RE/MAX HOLDINGS, INC". 26 February 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  34. Elizabeth Dexheimer; Leslie Picker (2 October 2013). "Re/Max Gains After $220 Million IPO Priced Above Target". Bloomberg. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  35. Michael J. De La Merced (19 August 2013). "Re/Max Files for I.P.O. As Housing Market Continues Upswing". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  36. "RE/MAX China Open for Business" (Press release). PR Newswire.
  37. "RE/MAX Hosts Successful Global Franchise Sales Summit in Thailand". RIS Media. 18 September 2016.
  38. "Largest Re/Max Franchisee". Real Trends.
  39. "President Geoff Lewis To Retire". RealTrends. 12 February 2018.
  40. "Dave Liniger officially steps down at Re/Max, Adam Contos takes over as sole CEO". Inman.
  41. "Re/Max founder David Liniger violated ethics code with $2.38M loan to executive, company finds". The Denver Post. 22 February 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  42. "Real Brokerage to Acquire Re/Max in Widening Consolidation". Bloomberg News. April 27, 2026. Retrieved May 2, 2026. "The Real Brokerage, REMAX to combine in $880M transaction". HousingWire. April 27, 2026. Retrieved May 2, 2026. "Real Brokerage To Acquire REMAX In Major Consolidation Play". Inman. April 27, 2026. Retrieved May 2, 2026. "Real to Acquire REMAX, Creating a Leading Technology-Enabled Global Real Estate Platform" (Press release). Business Wire. April 27, 2026. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
  43. "Children's Miracle Network". RE/MAX Achievers. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  44. "Creating Real Miracles by Raising Funds for Local Hospitals". Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  45. "RE/MAX Sponsors Komen's "Race for the Cure"". Realty Times. 4 March 2002. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  46. "Training Magazine Ranks 2015 Top 125 Organizations". Training Magazine. 10 February 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
External links