ERA
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ERA Real Estate is an innovative franchising leader in the residential real estate industry with 40 years of experience in developing consumer-oriented products and services. The ERA® network includes approximately 30,000 brokers and sales associates and approximately 2,500 offices throughout the United States and 34 countries and territories.
Founded in 1971 as Electronic Realty Associates, the company was the first to leverage the emerging technology of the FAX machine to build the business and the brand. Today, that spirit of innovation continues and is reflected in ERA Real Estate’s custom approaches to affiliate relationships and relevant programs and tools that serve to distinguish ERA brokers and sales associates in the marketplace.
| |
Operating Units |
12/31/2008 |
12/31/2009 |
12/31/2010 |
|---|
| | Franchised |
925 |
828 |
661 |
| | % Change | -- |
-10.5% |
-20.2% |
| | Company-Owned |
28 |
11 |
11 |
| | % Change | -- |
-60.7% |
0.0% |
| | Total |
953 |
839 |
672 |
| | % Change | -- |
-12.0% |
-19.9% |
| | Franchised as % of Total |
97.1% |
98.7% |
98.4% |
Investment Required
The initial fee for an ERA franchise is $25,000 for a standard market.
ERA provides the following range of investments required to open your initial franchise. The range assumes that all items are paid for in cash. To the extent that you choose to finance any of these expense items, your front-end investment could be substantially reduced.
| |
Item | Established Low Range | Established High Range |
| |
Initial Franchise Fee |
$25,000 |
$25,000 |
|
Signs and Other Supplies |
$5,000 |
$30,000 |
|
Furniture and Equipment |
$500 |
$25,000 |
|
Insurance Deposits and Premiums |
$200 |
$5,000 |
|
Expenses While Training |
$500 |
$3,000 |
|
Legal Expenses |
$0 |
$2,000 |
|
Accounting Fees |
$300 |
$600 |
|
Multiple Listing Service (MLS) Dues |
$150 |
$600 |
|
Advertising/Public Relations |
$1,500 |
$20,000 |
| |
Taxes |
$50 |
$1,200 |
| |
Misc. Opening Costs |
$2,500 |
$7,500 |
|
Additional Funds (3 Months) |
$12,000 |
$90,000 |
| |
Total Initial Investment |
$47,700 |
$209,900 |
Ongoing Expenses
ERA franchisees pay ongoing royalty fees equal to 6% of gross revenues, plus a National Marketing Fund contribution equal to 2% of monthly gross revenue subject to a monthly minimum of $362 and monthly maximum of $1,259.
What You Get—Training and Support
ERA Real Estate training programs are designed to continue franchisees’ real estate employees and sales associates’ education, as well as the franchisee’s own education. The majority of ERA’s courses are conveniently hosted online and are available at either no additional cost or are deeply discounted for ERA Real Estate affiliates. From accelerated training programs for new sales associates to improving brokers’ sales skills, ERA offers a wide variety of training courses to meet franchisees’ and their brokers’ needs.
Territory
ERA does not grant exclusive territories.
Note: The tables and information regarding the number of operating units, investment required, on-going expenses, training and territory grants were taken from the company’s 2011 FDD. The 2011 write-ups will be incorporated into the 2012 Edition of Bond’s Top 100 Franchises publication.
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