RE/MAX has further broadened its international reach into two new countries: Bolivia and Tunisia.
New Region Owners Tarek Thabet of RE/MAX Tunisia and Oliver Viera of RE/MAX Bolivia said the brand’s strong global visibility and credibility were prime reasons they chose to purchase a RE/MAX master franchise. Both of the new owners predicted that the entrance of RE/MAX into their countries would increase the level of professionalism in their national real estate markets.
“Despite the recovering economies around the world, RE/MAX continues to attract enthusiastic entrepreneurs,” said William Soteroff, Senior Vice President, International Development at RE/MAX. “With talented leadership like Tarek and Oliver, we believe that RE/MAX can bring a quality of customer service that will greatly benefit the people of Tunisia and Bolivia.”
Tunisia, located on the Mediterranean Coast of North Africa, is a combination of desert in the south and coastal towns in the north. Thabet, a Tunisian native who has lived in Paris, London and Johannesburg, said homeownership is the norm for many Tunisians. Nearly 80 percent of Tunisia ‘s 10.5 million residents own a home, Thabet noted.
With a growing population and an increase in European investment in its economy, Tunisia has significant potential for a booming real estate market, he added.
“Right now, real estate is a very basic service where most real estate agents lack training and qualifications, and are operating in isolation,” Thabet said.
“RE/MAX has the right tools and resources to improve the real estate profession in Tunisia and help agents provide better service.”
Viera has similar hopes for RE/MAX Bolivia. The South American nation, which also has a population of about 10 million people, is bordered by Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Paraguay. RE/MAX is the perfect fit forBolivia, Viera said, because of its tools and resources in Spanish. Bolivia is also located near several well-established RE/MAX regions. Neighboring Argentina is one of the best performing RE/MAX regions in Latin America and adding Bolivia gives RE/MAX almost total coverage on the South American continent.
“RE/MAX has the most responsive, customer-service oriented model of all the companies out there,” Viera said. “There are many opportunities here for new construction and growth, and this is the best time to capitalize on outgoing referrals to Latin America.”
In the first seven months of 2010, RE/MAX has sold over 325 franchises worldwide. This represents an increase of 11.2% over the same period in 2009. RE/MAX continues to actively pursue franchise opportunities across the U.S. and around the world.
About The RE/MAX Network
RE/MAX was founded in 1973 by Dave and Gail Liniger. From a single office in Denver, Colorado, it has grown into a global network of nearly 100,000 Sales Associates in more than 75 countries, an international presence greater than any of its competitors. Nobody in the world sells more real estate than RE/MAX.
RE/MAX has been recognized as the leading real estate franchise in the “2009 Franchise Times Top 200,” and also has been honored as the top real estate franchise for nine of the last 11 years in “The Franchise 500 Survey,” published by Entrepreneur magazine.
Today, all U.S. home listings in thousands of cities and towns can be found at www.remax.com, the most visited real estate franchise web site. (ComScore, Jan.-June 2009; Compete.com, Feb. 2008-June 2009; Hitwise, Jan.-June 2009)
RE/MAX is proud of its Premier Community Citizenship, which has raised over $100 million for deserving organizations like Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, Children’s Miracle Network and The Sentinels of Freedom Foundation.
For information on RE/MAX, please visit: www.remax.com or www.joinremax.com