RISMEDIA, June 19, 2009-RE/MAX has announced plans to begin operations in Brazil, the largest nation in South America, and to expand its existing operations in Australia, as the world’s most recognized real estate organization continues to enlarge its international presence. The dual expansion should result in stronger economic bonds between those two nations and the United States, including the Chicago real estate market.
Brazil is the eighth country to join the RE/MAX network in the last six months, preceded by Albania, Bahamas, Ecuador, India, Macedonia, Singapore and Uruguay.
In Australia, RE/MAX announced the establishment of a separate regional organization, RE/MAX Western Australia, and a merger of its existing operations in Western Australia with the locally owned Geoff Baldwin Realty Group. Geoff Baldwin is a well known trainer and real estate leader who has over 22 years of experience in the local marketplace. He will be the chief executive and regional owner of RE/MAX Western Australia. The merger more than doubles the size of RE/MAX operations in Western Australia.
Occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent, Western Australia is by far the largest state in that country in terms of land area. Its capital city, Perth, is home to more than 75% of the state’s two million inhabitants.
“RE/MAX is a clear leader in real estate, recognized around the world,” said Baldwin. “The credibility of the brand, its international influence, and extensive resources will all be tremendous assets to our staff, as we work toward the goal of being a powerful force in Western Australia.”
RE/MAX Brazil is to be owned and operated by Luis Juliao, Jose Luiz Monteis, Renato Teixeira and Paolo Toledo, who average more than 20 years of real estate experience each and have been operating an independent firm in Brazil with more than 800 agents.
“The marriage of our combined experience and the RE/MAX brand makes RE/MAX Brazil a major force in the real estate market,” said Toledo. “We’re excited to join the RE/MAX network and to use our experience and RE/MAX resources to open new offices and recruit seasoned agents.”
The official launch of RE/MAX Brazil, with headquarters in Sao Paulo, will take place in early October, and the new owners look to open more than two dozen offices in three concentrated regions of Brazil – East Central, North East and South – within the first years of operation.
Brazil is the world’s fourth most populous democracy with a population of nearly 200 million. It also has the largest national economy in Latin America, with strong ties to the Chicago area.
“As a major international business center, Chicago is connected to markets around the world, and especially to such major economies as those of Australia and Brazil,” said Jim Merrion, regional director of the RE/MAX network in northern Illinois.
“The growth and expansion of the RE/MAX network in Australia and Brazil will also impact our Sales Associates in the Illinois real estate market, allowing them to expand their relocation business, international connections and clientele,” he said.
RE/MAX is the leader in northern Illinois real estate sales and has been number one in the metropolitan Chicago real estate market since 1989. In 2008, the RE/MAX network in northern Illinois closed nearly $8 billion in sales.
The RE/MAX Northern Illinois network consists of 3,000 associates and 145 individually owned and operated RE/MAX offices that provide residential, relocation and commercial real estate services throughout the northern one-third of Illinois. The network’s websites, www.illinoisproperty.com and www.remax.com, are outstanding resources for buyers and sellers and consistently rank as the most visited brokerage sites in their respective categories. RE/MAX Northern Illinois is part of RE/MAX International, a global real estate organization with 7,000 independently owned offices and 100,000 member sales associates in 73 countries.
For more information, visit www.remax.com.
