RISMEDIA, Jan. 26, 2007-ERA Franchise Systems, Inc. announced the growth of its global franchise network in 2006, including 91 new residential real estate brokerage companies in 23 states. Master franchisors expanded the ERA® System with new office openings in 10 countries. In addition, 93 existing ERA affiliate companies expanded their presence throughout 26 states due to new office openings or mergers and acquisitions. The ERA network now has approximately 3,000 offices and more than 38,700 sales associates and brokers and presence throughout 35 countries and territories.
In the United States, ERA Real Estate's largest area of growth was in California with 17 new franchised brokerage companies, followed by Florida with 12 and Texas with 10. Many existing ERA affiliate companies continued to expand their market presence, including 16 new offices in Florida, 15 in California and nine in Georgia. ERA Dream Team in Aliso Viejo, Calif., led by broker/owner Michele Williams, expanded its operations with a total of five mergers and acquisitions.
"Once again the ERA system delivered strong domestic and international expansion results in 2006," commented Brenda W. Casserly, president and chief executive officer, ERA Franchise Systems, Inc. "To further expand on our accomplishments, 2007 will be a year in which we continue to invest in our business practices by adding world-class products and services to address our brokers and sales associate's needs in this ever-changing real estate environment."
New Company Affiliations
Among the larger companies joining ERA Franchise Systems, Inc. were:
• ERA Buckhead Realty, Atlanta, Ga., – led by broker/owner William Colley has a main office with five branch offices, and in 2006 added three start-up offices including a Spanish-speaking office
• ERA One Source Realty, Clarks Summit, Pa., led by broker/owner Sunita Arora has a main office with three branch offices
• ERA Town & Country Real Estate, Las Vegas, Nev., led by broker/owner Lisa Lucas has a main office with two branch offices
• ERA Tricoastal Realty, Punta Gorda, Fla., led by broker/owner George Tomasi has a main office with six branch offices
William Colley, broker/owner of ERA Buckhead Realty, researched many real estate brands before selecting ERA Franchise Systems, Inc. The company's unique marketing platform allowed his team to open up ERA Bienvenido, a Spanish-speaking office formed to address the growing Hispanic market in the Atlanta region.
"We chose to join ERA Franchise Systems because it was the only brand that had extensive Spanish-language materials, including ERA.Espanol.com and demonstrated a commitment to support this market moving forward," said Colley. "ERA Franchise Systems helped jump start the ERA Bienvenido office by solving our major challenge of delivering a robust selection of Spanish-language marketing materials, including print ads, television commercials, billboard signs, and communication pieces."
Global Network Expansions
In 2006, the ERA system expanded its global presence with new office openings under master franchise agreements in 10 countries including: Aruba, Bahamas, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Egypt, Jamaica, Oman, Panama, Turks and Caicos Islands, and Saudi Arabia. In addition, a master franchise agreement signed by ERA Bulgaria, will result in new office openings in the future.
For more information, visit http://www.ERA.com.
