By Ashley Cantor, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – RE/MAX, a leading real estate network in the U.S. has been developing their network internationally, and since 2009 has expanded quickly in Brazil. The company currently claims 165 franchises sold, and 100 offices in operation throughout the country.
RE/MAX Brasil is operating in major Brazilian capitals like Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Salvador, Recife, Natal, Florianópolis, Belo Horizonte, Fortaleza, Vitória (ES), Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Brasília, Teresina, São Luis do Maranhão, Maceió, Aracaju and João Pessoa.
In Rio, the real estate giant already has franchises in many major neighborhoods like Copacabana, Ipanema, Centro, Tijuca and Barra da Tijuca. The franchise network, at the time of writing, has 1,611 listings in Rio state, and 791 listings in the city alone.
In Tijuca, Alexandre and Fernanda Bradford are opening a location with big goals for the Rio de Janeiro real estate market. Alexandre Bradford explained: “The challenge is to bring a new business model, successful in the U.S., Canada, Portugal and several other countries to the Brazilian market.”
“Based on information from the Rio de Janeiro State Master Franchise, the goal for the Rio de Janeiro region is to grow at least 200 percent for the year of 2012 in total number of franchises in the state, increasing from twenty to over sixty in the next twelve months.” he explains.
William Soteroff, Senior V.P. of International development says, “Brazil is a country of great international stature because of its economic viability and we’re thrilled to have a presence there.”
Bradford, the new Tijuca franchise owner, is confident the real estate market in Rio will continue to boom, citing the mega-events (2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games), the city’s economic growth because of the oil industry, and the recent favela pacification and UPP programs.
“The UPP safety public policy is driving market value upwards in regions that suffered decades of decaying due to urban violence. This trend will open a lot of new market areas that were, otherwise, excluded and now are keen to be thriving once again.” he explains.
In November of this year the company also announced the launch of perhaps the first true global listing site – global.remax.com.
The goal is to include listings from Brazil, France, Italy, India, Portugal, Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Switzerland, the United States, Canada, and New Zealand – a total of more than sixty countries and territories around the world.
“We make our customers our priority, and they told us they needed a comprehensive resource for international properties,” said Soteroff.
“We’re seeing an increasing number of buyers looking for property all over the world. global.remax.com is essentially a one-stop source for residential, luxury and commercial real estate, no matter where you live.” he stated.
RE/MAX was created in the United States in 1973 and operates in more than eighty countries, with 100,000 brokers and more than 7,000 offices worldwide.