When I first entered the real estate business back in 2001, I hung my Las Vegas real estate license with a company that charged a franchise fee, amongst other fees.  I was new and really didn’t know this wasn’t necessary.  Now with over 8 years in the Las Vegas Real Estate Market, I would like to say I know better.  With the changing real estate market and the movement to the Internet, I wonder why real estate agents in Las Vegas would hang their license at a Real Estate Brokerage that charges a franchise fee?

So let’s think about this for a second.  Las Vegas home prices peaked in June 2006 with a median price of $315K and currently the median home price is $141K.  That is a drop of $170K which equals a loss of $5100 in real estate commissions.  Anyone that loses that kind of income is going to notice a serious hit to their pocket book.  With that kind of loss of income, why would you keep paying the same fees you were paying in 2006?  Your fees are still the same but your income isn’t.

Ok, maybe you are still hanging your license at one of these brokerages that charge a franchise fee because they are providing something of value.  Could it be they are generating real estate leads and they are handing them out to you on a split or maybe their brand name is helping you generate business?  Do buyers really care where real estate agents hang their real estate license?  Maybe a small percentage does but for the most part, the majority doesn’t care.

Could it be that the real estate company has a large Internet presence?  Well I can answer that question for you.  NO!  There is no real estate brokerage in Las Vegas that has a large Internet presence.  The websites that dominate majority of all the major search phrases that relate to Las Vegas Real Estate are owned by real estate agents, not real estate brokerages.  This means they don’t generate much business from their websites. This is a significant insight and is worth repeating: Large branded brokerages do not rank highly on the Internet with regards to what consumers are searching for at the local level, agents are.

The other day I received an email from a local real estate company that charges a franchise fee and the email stated they generated 250 company leads in the month of March.  This real estate company has been around for over 10 years and I actually started my career with them.  But back to their email, what are 250 company generated leads when you have over 500 real estate agents hanging their license at the brokerage?  I generate over 400 leads every month from my Las Vegas Real Estate Website and I am only 1 person, not a brokerage.

Every dollar you make from your real estate business is very important and to give away a few hundred dollars per closing just to be associated with a brand name company is not really worth it.  Like I said earlier, I hung my license for over 4 years with a brand name company that charged me a franchise fee on every transaction I closed.  I must have given away over $10K dollars during that 4 year period.  Ever since I moved to a company that doesn’t charge a franchise fee, I never had a client tell me they didn’t want to work with me because I wasn’t associated with a brand name company.

So back to my original question, why are you giving away a few hundred dollars on every transaction just to be associated with a brand name brokerage?

If you are a Las Vegas real estate agent who is interested in joining my real estate team, we have opportunities for you.  For more information, fill out the form on our Las Vegas Real Estate Career page or call us at 702.376.0088.

Las Vegas Real Estate Brokerage Las Vegas Real Estate, Las Vegas Real Estate Brokerage, las vegas real estate company