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Profile of residential brokerages
Small companies still backbone of industry, NAR study shows.

Small, single, independently owned residential offices continue to dominate the real estate industry. And despite the sweeping growth of a few selected franchises, franchise affiliation has stabilized following the spike of growth in the early 1990s.

Those are the key findings of the 2001 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Profile of Residential Real Estate Brokerages, which will be published in November.

About 77 percent of all real estate companies, regardless of the number of sales associates, are single-office operations, the survey shows, and only 4 percent of all companies have four or more offices.

2000 was a profitable year for most companies; profits increased or stayed the same in 2000 over 1999. And 90 percent of respondents said they expect profits to remain the same or increase in 2001, but those predictions were made before the events of Sept. 11.

Internet activity was also taking hold last year. About 15 percent of companies reported they had closed at least some portion of their transactions online, and three-fourths said some of their business was conducted on the Internet or by
e-mail.

One thing hasn't changed: Sales associates across the country generally aren't receiving the health and financial benefits available in other industries. Such benefits as health insurance, disability, life insurance, long-term care, and pension/401(k) plans are offered to very few.

For a glimpse at the state of real estate companies and to measure how yours stacks up, see the charts on the accompanying pages.

To order a copy of the report, call NAR Information Central, 800/874-6500.