A Model for Growth: Independent Brokers and Start-Ups Gain More Than a Brand with Weichert.

MORRIS PLAINS, N.J. -- The nation's largest privately owned provider of home ownership services continues to expand its brand across the United States.

Weichert Real Estate Affiliates (WREA) today reported that the roster of affiliated Weichert offices rapidly shot up from just under 70 last fall to 115 currently signed on, with more in the pipeline. WREA is now in 14 states from the East Coast westward, with a heavy concentration of offices in the Carolinas and Florida and a growing number in Ohio, Tennessee, and Texas.

What's propelling this accelerated growth? According to Martin J. Rueter, WREA president, "strong favorable buzz" within the real estate industry is heightening interest among independent brokers nationwide. And Rueter squarely attributes all the industry talk to one factor: the Weichert business systems.

"Brokers who sign on with us aren't just getting a brand name," he said. "They get a business model that's proven itself for over 35 years. New affiliates tell us Weichert's cutting edge practices are genuinely helping them get listings and sales and make greater inroads in their marketplace."

Rueter added with a broad smile, "They're loving it, and their competitors are sitting up and taking notice."

Among those new Weichert affiliates is Houston broker Wayne Murray, who now sees his own firm on a clearly delineated path to faster growth. "We've visibly raised the bar in the Houston area," said Murray, whose 20-year-old firm became WEICHERT, REALTORS(R) Wayne Murray Properties this January. "Already, we're seeing a major competitor try to mirror some of the new things we do."

Murray had long admired the Weichert organization as a leading fellow member of RELO(R), the giant relocation network of independent real estate brokers. "I knew the Weichert reputation, and what really attracted me was the opportunity to be the first Weichert office in Texas and the first in Houston to use the Weichert systems."

Thanks to those systems, Murray's agents now share their experiences at every meeting. "We love the Weichert listing presentation," he said. "Using Weichert's innovative system, we hoped that we'd convert a higher percentage of opportunities, but our results even exceed our expectations."

The Weichert Open House system proved a major revelation, turning this long-time skeptic into a raving fan. Murray cited, "Using the Weichert system, we're selling a noticeably higher percentage of the people we're meeting at Open Houses. It's incredible."

When all the numbers are in, Murray believes he will not be disappointed, and confidently envisions additional offices down the road. "The Weichert business model opens up opportunities," he said.

WREA's Rueter said that besides independent firms who've been "struggling against the giant conglomerates for years," another trend he's seeing are managers and top sales teams who are launching start-ups and recognize the value of Weichert training, systems, and marketing materials.

Among those start-ups is Kathleen N. Rebhan, who newly signed on as WEICHERT, REALTORS(R) Rebhan & Associates in Charlotte, North Carolina. Rebhan most recently was instrumental in the growth of a local boutique real estate firm and earlier was a major brand's "top 10" agent in the Southeast and later its Vice President for Growth and Development.

Rebhan saw the impact of the Weichert systems practically before the ink had dried on her agreement: "Before we even had the Weichert listing presentation in portfolio form, one of my agents went on a listing with the presentation on disk. At the end, the seller told the agent, 'You just blew me away.' The seller was someone who interviewed every company in town, but we got the listing."

In deciding to launch her "upscale company supported by the power of positive franchising," Rebhan visited Weichert headquarters and returned sold on "the people, the technology, the professionalism and, most of all, the stability." What most excited her was the Weichert Lead Network, an innovative Internet marketing and lead generation operation she found "absolutely phenomenal." As she summarized, "As a Weichert affiliate, I saw I could offer clients a vast menu of services, with a personal touch."

As a brand new affiliate, Rebhan had nothing but praise for WREA's responsiveness. "The response time is instant," she said. "Ask and you have it done."

Weichert, based in Morris Plains, N.J., has more than 12,800 sales associates in 270 company-owned and franchised sales offices located in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Ohio, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, and Texas. A full-service, family of individually-owned real estate companies, Weichert, Realtors handles both residential and commercial real estate, and through Weichert Financial Services' Gold Services Program, streamlines the delivery of mortgage, home insurance and title insurance. For more information about buying or selling a home through Weichert, Realtors, call Weichert's state-of-the-art customer service center at 1-800-USA SOLD or visit Weichert's Web site, www.weichert.com. Each Weichert franchised office is independently owned and operated.