Is there room for newcomers in the crowded world of franchised real estate dominated by Century 21, Coldwell Banker Hunneman, RE/MAX, and GMAC Home Services?

No doubt about it - there's plenty, say executives of Austin, Texas-based Keller Williams Realty and Weichert Real Estate Affiliates Inc. of Morris Plains, N.J.

In the last two years, Keller Williams has opened offices in Framingham, Westborough, Andover, and Warwick, R.I., and is negotiating for others in the Bay State, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. Weichert wants to have ''well over a dozen'' franchised offices in Massachusetts by the end of 2003, according to one of its top executives.

The variety of residential real estate offerings in this state and the fact that home prices have been rising, even during a recession, are prompting Keller Williams and Weichert to put up stakes here, their officials emphasized.

And as these newcomers are orchestrating their moves, GMAC Home Services, which has been doing business in Massachusetts since 1999, recently decided to expand its number of company-owned offices in the region. The General Motors entity had been considering converting these offices to franchises.

GMAC now has about 40 offices in Massachusetts; 62 in New England. It got its foothold in the region by acquiring Woburn-based Carlson Real Estate-Better Homes and Gardens and two affiliated firms, one in Springfield and the other in Bedford, N.H.

Competition is keen, but ''we think we'll continue to see new brand names and franchise models. After all, real estate is an entrepreneurial business,'' said John Fridlington, executive vice president of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. However, as in any industry, ''some will succeed, others won't,'' he added.

The statewide real estate trade group estimates that 537 of the 3,350 offices in Massachusetts are tied to a franchise. That compares to 513 franchised offices two years ago.

Keller Williams is charting a successful course in Massachusetts and other New England states, asserted Herb Taylor, its regional director and a former owner of Century 21 franchises in the Boston area.

New England may be perceived as a region ''that's set in its ways, but I'm now working on closing'' four franchise deals in Massachusetts, two in New Hampshire, and one in Rhode Island, Taylor noted.

Keller Williams, which has 200 offices, many of them in the Southwest, puts an $18,000 price tag on a franchise, recommending that from $150,000 to $250,000 will be needed for start-up capital, he said.

Toni Stewart, the chain's marketing vice president, said, ''We're an agent-oriented organization. We call our agents real estate fiduciary consultants.''

Rochelle Jonswold, ''team leader'' in Keller Williams's Framingham office, added, ''We emphasize agents because they're partners in the business.'' Previously, Jonswold had been a broker for Coldwell Banker Hunneman and Century 21.

For a franchise fee of between $12,500 and $35,000, depending on the market, Weichert Real Estate Affiliates is offering ''a total package for running a real estate company, including training and business consulting,'' said Marty Rueter, president. His firm, which was founded last August, currently has 12 franchises, all in the Northeast or Southeast, he said, adding that the parent company, Weichert Realtors, has 200 company-owned offices, all on the East Coast.

In Massachusetts, as is the case elsewhere, he and his associates are talking to owners of independent real estate firms. ''Many of these firms can't grow on their own any further,'' Rueter suggested. ''So, we're an option for a business that doesn't want to [go] out of business or go with another franchise.''

Joan S. Meyer, co-owner of Acton Real Estate Co. Inc., said she's been wooed, unsuccessfully, by several unnamed franchisers. ''I think they'll have trouble,'' Meyer said, referring to franchisers trying to get started in Massachusetts, because the New England real estate company scene ''changes slowly. Also, I don't think many independent firms want to shell out money - $25,000 or so - for a franchise.''

Before recently reversing course, GMAC Home Services had been thinking seriously of putting its company-owned, Carlson GMAC offices in Massachusetts on the market as franchises, said John Bearden, chief executive of the Oak Brook, Ill.-based firm. ''But that was only one of our strategies.''

Bearden met with Richard B. DeWolfe, chief executive of DeWolfe Cos. Inc., the only public residential real estate enterprise in New England, with 97 offices. It is headquartered in Lexington. Although discussions didn't go anywhere with DeWolfe, ''we are not giving up the notion that [DeWolfe] at some point might want to be part of GMAC, '' Bearden said.

DeWolfe said, ''We did have discussions with [Bearden] about relocation matters and certain Hammond [Real Estate] and Carlson offices. But at no time did we discuss becoming part of GMAC. Being part of a franchise is of no interest to us.''


This story ran on page G1 of the Boston Globe on 3/14/2002.
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