Keller Williams Realty
Keller Williams Realty is a privately held, Austin-based real estate brokerage franchise founded in 1983 that operates independently owned Market Centers worldwide. It serves home buyers, sellers, and affiliated agents through a cloud-based property search platform, mobile apps, and specialty divisions covering luxury, commercial, land, and mortgage services.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1983
- HeadquartersColumbus, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Keller Williams Realty does
Keller Williams Realty, LLC is a privately held real estate brokerage franchise founded in 1983 by Gary Keller and headquartered in Austin, Texas. The company operates a franchise model composed of independently owned and operated Market Centers staffed by affiliated real estate agents who conduct residential transactions. Keller Williams serves three primary constituencies: home buyers seeking property listings and agent representation, home sellers seeking marketing and brokerage services, and independent real estate agents seeking brand, technology, training, and lead-generation support under the franchise system. The product surface spans the consumer-facing kw.com platform (property search, agent finder, market-insights blog), iOS and Android mobile applications, and a portfolio of specialized sub-brands — KW Luxury, KW Commercial, KW Land, KW Worldwide, and Keller Home Loans — that extend the addressable market into high-value residential, commercial, acreage, international, and mortgage verticals.
The technology stack is a cloud-based web and mobile platform with property and agent search capabilities, support for 30+ languages, and integrated MLS data feeds (e.g., MRED in Illinois). The platform serves top-of-funnel buyer/seller acquisition via SEO, content marketing, and social channels, while the Thrive platform drives agent recruitment. Supporting community modules — KW Events, KW Stories, KW Cares, KW Next Gen, KW Red Label — operate as agent-retention and brand-building infrastructure rather than revenue-generating products in their own right.
Keller Williams generates revenue through three principal streams: franchise/licensing fees from Market Centers, commission-sharing arrangements on transactions closed by affiliated agents, and referral/affiliate revenue from integrated services such as Keller Home Loans. Pricing is transaction-based and not publicly disclosed. In 2025, Stone Point Capital made a strategic private equity investment intended to fund an accelerated M&A roll-up strategy at the Market Center level, positioning the company for inorganic expansion on top of its existing organic franchise growth.
Keller Williams Realty firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Keller Williams Realty
- Legal name
- Keller Williams Realty, LLC
- Website
- https://mc872.yourkwoffice.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1983
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Keller Williams Realty is a privately held, Austin-based real estate brokerage franchise founded in 1983 that operates independently owned Market Centers worldwide. It serves home buyers, sellers, and affiliated agents through a cloud-based property search platform, mobile apps, and specialty divisions covering luxury, commercial, land, and mortgage services.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Keller Williams Realty is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Columbus
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Keller Williams Realty business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Brokerage Transaction Revenue: Keller Williams operates as a real estate brokerage franchise. Agents affiliated with KW offices conduct real estate transactions and the company earns revenue through commission sharing arrangements with affiliated agents. The M&A activity at Market Center level indicates franchise/commission-based revenue streams.
- Franchise Fees: Keller Williams Realty operates as a franchise company. Each Keller Williams office is independently owned and operated under the KW brand, suggesting franchise fee revenue from Market Centers.
- Keller Home Loans: Related mortgage lending service through Keller Home Loans, providing home loan solutions to buyers using KW agents, creating referral/revenue opportunities
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Transaction-based commission model for real estate services |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels7 records
Marketing channels6 records
Keller Williams Realty product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Keller Williams Realty operates a franchise real estate brokerage platform that connects home buyers and sellers with affiliated KW agents through Market Centers. The company earns revenue through commission sharing on closed transactions, franchise fees from independently owned Market Centers, and referral revenue from Keller Home Loans. Vertical sub-brands cover luxury, commercial, land, and international residential real estate.
Product overview
Keller Williams Realty operates a platform-plus-modules architecture anchored by its primary consumer website (kw.com) which integrates property search, agent finder, and market insights. The portfolio includes specialized sub-brands for distinct market segments: Luxury (luxury.kw.com) for high-value properties, Land (kwland.com) for undeveloped acreage, Commercial (kwcommercial.com) for commercial real estate, and Worldwide (kwworldwide.com) for international services. Supporting modules include Keller Home Loans (kwlends.com) for mortgage solutions, the KW Mobile App for on-demand real estate insights, KW Agent Search for agent discovery, KW Blog for market content, KW Events for agent training, KW Stories for brand storytelling, KW Red Label for merchandise, and KW Cares and KW Next Gen for agent support programs. The platform serves home buyers, sellers, and agents through both web and mobile interfaces across multiple languages.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Keller Williams Luxury: Luxury real estate services division
- Keller Williams Land
- Keller Williams Commercial
- KW Worldwide
- Keller Home Loans
- KW Cares
- KW Next Gen
- KW Red Label
Products and services
- Keller Williams Residential Brokerage Services Core residential real estate brokerage services connecting home buyers and sellers with affiliated KW agents through Market Centers in their local market. Available in 30+ languages.
- Keller Williams Luxury Specialized brokerage services for high-value luxury residential properties, serving luxury buyers, sellers, and agents.
- Keller Williams Commercial Commercial real estate brokerage services for office, retail, industrial, and other commercial property transactions.
- Keller Williams Land Dedicated brokerage services for undeveloped land, acreage, and rural properties.
- Keller Williams Worldwide International real estate brokerage services connecting clients with KW agents across multiple countries for cross-border transactions.
- Keller Home Loans Home loan and mortgage lending services integrated with KW agent offerings, providing mortgage solutions to KW buyer clients.
- KW Buy Sell Real Estate Mobile App iOS and Android mobile applications providing on-demand property search, real estate insights, and agent connectivity for home buyers and sellers.
Companies that use Keller Williams Realty
Customer profileSegments6 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Keller Williams Realty technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Keller Williams Realty partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Illinois RealtorsminorIllinois Realtors partnered with MRED (Midwest Real Estate Data) for MLS access. While not a direct KW partnership, this regional MLS partnership affects KW agents operating in Illinois market.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Keller Williams Realty competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Redfin: Redfin is a tech-enabled brokerage that competes with KW in the consumer-facing layer via its own agent network and portal experience. Its lower-fee model and direct-to-consumer brand pressure KW agents and franchise economics in technology-adopting markets, though Redfin is smaller in total agent count.
Direct peers
- Compass: Compass is a tech-enabled national residential brokerage competing with KW for top-producing agents, particularly in luxury and urban markets. It positions technology and agent support as differentiated, directly encroaching on KW's premium-agent recruitment territory.
- Sotheby's International Realty: Sotheby's International Realty is the leading luxury real estate franchise, directly competing with KW Luxury for high-end agents and listings. Comparable franchise structure, brand-driven pricing power, and global luxury presence make it a key peer particularly in the luxury vertical.
- eXp Realty: eXp Realty is a cloud-based brokerage that has scaled an agent-centric, low-overhead franchise alternative to KW. It directly competes for agent recruitment and uses a revenue-sharing model that has emerged as one of KW's most aggressive poaching competitors in the independent-agent segment.
- RE/MAX: RE/MAX is the closest direct peer to Keller Williams: a global real estate franchise brokerage with independently owned offices, agent network model, and similar commission-split economics. It competes head-to-head with KW for both agents and franchisees across residential markets.
- Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate: Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate operates a national franchise network with similar agent affiliation and brand-franchise economics as KW. It competes for residential franchisees and agents in mid-tier U.S. markets.
- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices: Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices is a franchise real estate network owned by HomeServices of America. Like KW, it operates a multi-office franchise model with a strong brand and competes for franchisees, agents, and listings across U.S. residential markets.
- Century 21 Real Estate: Century 21 is a global franchise real estate brand with a similar agent-ownership model to KW. It competes directly in residential brokerage recruitment and operates comparable multi-vertical franchise economics across the same U.S. footprint.
- Coldwell Banker Real Estate: Coldwell Banker is a long-established franchise brokerage operating similarly to KW: independently owned offices, residential focus with luxury and commercial extensions, brand-driven recruitment of agents, and global presence. It competes directly for agents and listings in overlapping geographies.
Broad incumbents
- Zillow Group: Zillow is the dominant U.S. real estate portal and previously operated an iBuying business; it sits adjacent to KW rather than directly competing in brokerage, but its control of consumer demand and MLS data gives it leverage over KW's agent-driven lead economics.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Keller Williams Realty social profiles
Digital presenceKeller Williams Realty compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Keller Williams Realty financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Keller Williams Realty leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Keller Williams Realty subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries5 records
Keller Williams Realty funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Keller Williams Realty M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Keller Williams Realty
What does Keller Williams Realty do?
Keller Williams Realty operates a franchise real estate brokerage platform that connects home buyers and sellers with affiliated KW agents through Market Centers. The company earns revenue through commission sharing on closed transactions, franchise fees from independently owned Market Centers, and referral revenue from Keller Home Loans. Vertical sub-brands cover luxury, commercial, land, and international residential real estate.
Is Keller Williams Realty a public or private company?
Keller Williams Realty is a private company. It is classified as private equity controlled and is currently operating.
When was Keller Williams Realty founded?
Keller Williams Realty was founded in 1983. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Keller Williams Realty based?
Keller Williams Realty is headquartered in Columbus, United States, in the North America region.
How does Keller Williams Realty make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Brokerage Transaction Revenue is the primary driver. The others are franchise Fees and keller Home Loans.
Who are Keller Williams Realty's main competitors?
Redfin is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Compass, Sotheby's International Realty, eXp Realty, RE/MAX, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Century 21 Real Estate and Coldwell Banker Real Estate. Zillow Group is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Keller Williams Realty have an API?
No public API is recorded for Keller Williams Realty.