RE/MAX is officially the largest real estate brand in South Africa, outnumbering most of their competitor by nearly 1,000 sales associates (these figures are based on REBOSA membership numbers).
RE/MAX of Southern Africa founded in 1994, is regarded as the pioneer of the RE/MAX international expansion as it was the first country franchise to be sold outside of North America. With over 2,400 agents operating from over 160 offices and licensed in 5 countries in Southern Africa, RE/MAX of Southern Africa is the largest real estate brand in the region.
According to Remax’s Vice President of Communications, Pete Crowe, the balloon and wordmark were upgraded to help agents grow their business, as well as give them an even bigger competitive advantage in digital, social media, and mobile marketing. The company is hoping the refreshed branding will bring in enthusiastic young entrepreneurs.
The biggest group of homebuyers are millennials; in fact, buyers who are 36 years old and younger continue to purchase homes at a higher rate than other age groups. CEO Adrian Goslett says Remax sold more than 29,000 freehold houses to first-time property buyers.
Goslett also noted that the average price of a freehold property has increased by around 5.9 percent during 2016. The increase in the freehold property price could be a result of the higher demand for this type of property. The current average price for a freehold property is R1 161 481, which is up from last year’s R1 096 487.
The largest interest is for houses below the R400 000 price mark. This group accounted for more 29 percent of property sales in the first quarter of 2017. Properties priced between R400 000 and R800 000 accounted for around 26.76 percent of total sales.
This can be attributed to the demand in affordable housing, and for that reason, it is expected to continue to grow. Properties priced between R800 000 and R1.5 million made up around 23.8 percent of the country’s home sales. Furthermore, homes priced from R1.5 million to R3 million represented a 14.54 percent share of the market, and properties with a price tag above the R3 million mark accounted for just 5.21 percent.