ReMax is looking for a few good real estate agents to help develop a ReMax commercial real estate presence in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
ReMax commercial real estate franchises operate in 800 cities around the world, but not in Wisconsin. ReMax’s presence in Wisconsin currently is limited to about 70 residential real estate offices throughout the state, said David Linger, ReMax executive vice president and director of the Wisconsin-Minnesota region. In 2000, ReMax did about $2 billion worth of business in Wisconsin, Linger said.
Talks of extending ReMax’s commercial arm into Wisconsin began about a year ago, Linger said. Bringing another group of experienced agents to the state’s commercial real estate arena would enhance the market, Linger said.
"Our average agent has about 13 and a half years of experience," he said. "We’ve got a lot of seasoned people who have a lot of contacts."
Also, ReMax’s 600 residential real estate agents in the state can help commercial offices get started in terms of providing contacts and networking opportunities, Linger said.
The additional competition a ReMax commercial real estate presence would create in southeastern Wisconsin would not be a threat to established firms, said Jack Jacobson, a principal with NAI MLG Commercial.
"We have a great group of professional brokers in this market, and if ReMax is going to bring more professionals to the area, it’s good for everyone," Jacobson said.
Having another commercial real estate firm in the market will allow some attention to be paid to sectors of the market that thus far have not been served fully by commercial firms, Jacobson said. For example, smaller commercial buildings in residential neighborhoods often are handled by residential real estate firms, Jacobson said. If another commercial firm were in the market, such properties could be covered by commercial agents, he said.
"An existing firm might not be the right one to do a certain job, but it could make a referral to a competitor," Jacobson said. "There is no fear that another commercial firm would hurt business here."
If ReMax does open commercial firms here, it would join an already-established commerial real estate market, said Dan Jessup, president-elect of the Wisconsin Commercial Association of Realtors. Of the organization’s 525 members, 175 of them are commercial agents. Jessup estimates there are about 25 to 30 commercial real estate firms in southeastern Wisconsin.
ReMax officials are not sure when they could open commercial real estate franchises in Wisconsin because they still are searching for agents for the offices, Linger said. The goal is to open offices in all major markets in the state, including Milwaukee, Madison and Green Bay.
Jan. 4, 2002 Small Business Times, Milwaukee
