£200 a month to run your own estate agency says company boss

The UK division of Keller Williams, the world's largest estate agency, says it can help entrepreneurial agents to set up their own business for under £200 per month.

The agency, led in the UK by a former managing director of Countrywide’s John D Wood , is seeking agents to work out of hub offices called market centres, which give the individual agents desk space, IT support, CRM systems and training facilities. 

“Our model reduces the risk associated with starting an agency business. Our worldwide growth is driven by a simple concept which allows agents to launch their own business with access to leading training and technology for a few hundred pounds” says Ben Taylor.

Keller Williams agents initially retain 63 per cent of their commissions with the remainder paid to the hub to cover costs. 

Once agents reach a target commission total of £60,000 in London - less outside - they retain 90 per cent with the remainder to the hub. 

They can choose their own hours and work around their personal schedules.

The company currently has four market centres, in Mayfair, London Bridge, Leeds and Glasgow, but Taylor last month told Estate Agent Today that he intends there to be many more in the future in major population centres. 

“Our proposition offers forward-thinking agents the opportunity to vastly improve their earning potential while working with the world's largest agency business, dedicated to improving its people through training” he says.

“The days of earning a basic £20,000 salary plus a fraction of commission are numbered as more agents become open to new and innovative ways of operating. ... The industry needs to adapt to accommodate flexible working, utilising technology to maximise working hours and make the moving process more efficient for consumers.”

The company has spent some £40m developing technology worldwide in the last year, and is the largest agency brand in the world with over 185,000 associates working in 34 countries. It was named as the world's number one training organisation across all industries by Training magazine.

“Working at one of our market centres provides ambitious agents with everything they need as well as the chance to learn from and collaborate with other like-minded business people” says Taylor.

“At a time when running a successful estate agency is becoming more expensive and challenging, the Keller Williams proposition will continue to be vastly appealing to those agents who want to take a more modern and flexible approach to the industry while earning more than they ever have before.”