Brokerage giants RE/MAX and Keller Williams announced second-quarter numbers Friday, reflecting a business environment that had its share of ups and downs as a result of COVID-19. RE/MAX, a public company, released earnings, while Keller Williams reported agent numbers and other stats.
RE/MAX
RE/MAX reported total revenue in Q2 of $52.2 million, with net income attributable to RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. of $3.5 million and earnings per diluted share (GAAP EPS) of $0.19. Q2 revenue is a decrease of 26.9%, or $19.2 million, year over year.
The brokerage said this revenue decline was due to temporary COVID-19-related financial-support initiatives it introduced in April, which reduced continuing franchise fees and marketing funds fees, as well as reducing broker fees stemming from lower existing home sales.
“The U.S. housing market began an encouraging rebound in June after COVID-19 interrupted 2020’s promising start,” Adam Contos, RE/MAX Holdings chief executive officer said in a statement. “We’re well positioned to help our affiliates build on this positive momentum given the financial and structural strength of our business model, which to date has enabled us to keep staff intact and continue to expand our value proposition.”
RE/MAX said that in Q2, total agent count increased 3.8%, to 131,905 agents. Combined with Canada, agent count decreased 1.4%, to 82,972.
RE/MAX’s Motto Mortgage recorded its franchises increased 29.6%, to 127 operating offices.
Keller Wiliams
Keller Williams, a privately held company, released numbers for home searches, agents and transactions.
According to the company, in Q2, 122 million home searches were conducted across the KW App, KW.com, and market center and agent websites. The company said this is more than double the home searches reported in Q1, when the brand’s new web- and consumer app-based home search experience first launched.
In the U.S. and Canada, Keller Williams agents closed 272,103 transactions, down 15.4% year over year, as of June 30. Agents also closed $85.3 billion in sales volume, down 15% year over year.
Keller Williams gave credit to its quick technology shifts during the pandemic to keep business going. The brokerage launched an online training initiative, virtual home tour training in collaboration with Facebook, continued expansion worldwide and updated its app to include virtual home tour scheduling.
“We responded to the demanding market challenges brought on by COVID by pivoting fast to empower our agents’ business to thrive in this unforeseen market,” Keller Williams President Josh Team said in a statement. “As a result, our agents maintained momentum. Although we did experience decreases in some of our key metrics, we maintained healthy profit levels while delivering more immediate training, coaching and technology value to support our agents.”
