RE/MAX

RE/MAX was founded in January 1973 by Dave Liniger and Gail Main (who later married Liniger and became Gail Liniger).[4][5][6] The company was established with a maximum commission concept, meaning 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] The company grew to 100 franchises in two years.[9][10] RE/MAX held its first convention in Las Vegas in 1976, which became an annual event.[10]

RE/MAX Ltd. Canada was started by Michael E. Hagel, of Vancouver BC, opened its first office outside the United States in Calgary, Canada in 1977.[11] In 1978, the red, white and blue hot air balloon became the official logo.[12][13] By 1981, the company had 30 franchises in Canada. RE/MAX became the top real estate company in Canada in 1987.[14]

In 1994, the company expanded outside North America with the establishment of RE/MAX Europe. Regional operations expanded in Germany, Italy, Spain and South Africa.[15] RE/MAX expanded to Australia and New Zealand in 1996.[16]

In November 1994, the RE/MAX Satellite Network (RSN) was launched in the US. Programs included training and company news.[3]

In 1998, Liniger attempted the first manned balloon flight around the world in a stratospheric gas balloon.[17][18][19][20] The flight was canceled due to design and weather problems.[21]

In 2006, RE/MAX began to list all U.S. homes for sale on its website, including homes being sold by competitors.[22][23] By 2009, the company had franchises in 70 countries.[4]

In April 2010, the Obama Administration announced the "Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives" (HAFA) program.[24] The day the announcement was made, leaders from the U.S. Treasury Department and Bank of America participated in a live, national broadcast detailing the initiative at RE/MAX Headquarters in Denver.[25] By 2011, the company had more than 6,000 franchises.[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.[27][28] As of November 2015, RE/MAX Israel was still selling properties in 18 different Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.[29]

RE/MAX’s parent company, RE/MAX Holdings Inc, raised $220 million in its initial public offering (IPO) in 2013.[30] A secondary offering was completed of approximately $185 million in November 2015.[31] REMAX Holdings owns 58.3% and RIHI owns 41.7% of RE/MAX LLC. Total diluted share count (public and private) as of December 31, 2015, was 30.2 million shares.[32][33][34]

The company expanded into China in 2014 by opening an office in Beijing. The company had more than 15,000 agents in Europe.[35] As of 2016, RE/MAX operates in about 100 countries and has more than 115 hot air balloons in operation, the largest corporate hot air balloon fleet in the world.[36][37]

In 2018, former president of the company Geoff Lewis,[38] and Liniger[39] stepped down from their roles to retire. Responsibilities were handed to CEO Adam Contos. In 2018 it was announced that founder David Liniger had violated company ethics with a multi-million-dollar loan of his own personal money to Contos.[40]