Re/Max Big Bear

What Re/Max Big Bear does

RE/MAX Big Bear is an independently owned and operated RE/MAX franchise brokerage headquartered in Big Bear Lake, California, with additional office locations across Big Bear Lake's three sub-areas (East, West, Village) and the Palm Springs desert corridor. Founded circa 1999 and under current ownership since 2012, the firm provides residential real estate brokerage services with a clear specialization in two customer segments: second-home buyers seeking mountain retreat properties and vacation rental investors pursuing short-term rental income assets in Big Bear's resort market. Service is delivered through licensed local agents who work face-to-face with clients across four physical offices that operate seven days a week, supplemented by weekly broker open houses to drive intra-industry listing exposure.

The underlying technology stack is conventional real estate brokerage infrastructure rather than proprietary product. It comprises Multiple Listing Service (MLS) integration for listings and pricing data, PropertyPress IDX search widgets embedded on the firm website, a mortgage calculator that pulls rate reference data from Bankrate and LendingTree, an in-house "Get Prequalified" service routing clients to a mortgage professional (Michele Town), and listing syndication to major third-party platforms (Zillow, Homes.com, the RE/MAX mobile app). There is no proprietary AI, no consumer-facing mobile product built by the firm, and no disclosed developer hiring or product roadmap.

Revenue is generated exclusively via real estate commissions on closed transactions under a contingency pricing model — clients pay only if their home sells, with no upfront or set fees. The firm uses a horizontal segmentation approach across use cases (second-home, vacation rental, primary residence), distribution is purely direct via in-person agent engagement at retail offices, and brand marketing is a mix of organic social, monthly email newsletters, local market reports, and third-party listing syndication. Ownership is concentrated in the Prophet family (Directors of Vision) with Mark Dolan serving as Broker of Record (DRE #01897906) since 2020; no institutional, private equity, or venture capital ownership is indicated.

Name

Re/Max Big Bear

Legal name

RE/MAX Big Bear

Website

https://remaxbigbear.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

RE/MAX Big Bear is an independently owned RE/MAX franchise brokerage serving the Big Bear Lake mountain community and Palm Springs desert corridor in California, providing residential buying and selling services to second-home buyers, vacation rental investors, and full-time residents through licensed local agents and four physical offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Big Bear Lake

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Real Estate Commission: Traditional real estate commission model where agents earn fees when properties are bought or sold. The company states they do not have set fees - clients only pay if their home sells.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

RE/MAX Big Bear is an independently owned RE/MAX franchise brokerage that helps individual buyers and sellers transact residential real estate in the Big Bear Lake and Palm Springs areas. Core services include buyer representation, seller representation, vacation rental investment advisory, and mortgage pre-qualification referrals, delivered through licensed local agents across four physical office locations.

Product overview

RE/MAX Big Bear operates as a full-service real estate brokerage offering both a core platform of property buying and selling services, supported by add-on tools and modules. The core offering consists of MLS Search for property discovery, Find a Home and Sell My House services, and Local Expert Agent Services. These are complemented by add-on modules including Mortgage Calculator, Get Prequalified for financing, Market Reports providing Big Bear Lake and Bear Valley data, Property Valuation/Estimate tools, Vacation Rental Investment Services, and Zoom Backgrounds resources. The company utilizes the local MLS platform and promotes listings across Zillow and Homes.com. All services are delivered through agents at four office locations (Big Bear Lake East, Big Bear Lake West, Village Office, and Desert/Surrounding Areas).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Find a Home (Buyer Representation) Property search and buyer representation service for individuals seeking mountain, vacation, or primary residence homes in the Big Bear and Palm Springs markets, supported by IDX search widgets and MLS data.
• Sell My House (Seller Representation) Home selling service that lists seller properties on the MLS, promotes listings on Zillow, Homes.com, and the RE/MAX Mobile App, and provides full agent representation through closing.
• Local Expert Agent Services Full-service residential real estate representation provided by local Big Bear agents for second-home buyers, vacation rental investors, and full-time residents, with personal face-to-face consultations.
• Vacation Rental Investment Services Specialized real estate services for investors purchasing short-term rental and vacation rental properties, including guidance on local regulations, seasonal demand patterns, and investment return considerations.
• Get Prequalified (Mortgage Pre-Qualification Referral) Referral-based mortgage pre-qualification service connecting buyers with a mortgage professional to determine financing budget before submitting home purchase offers.
• Property Valuation / Home Estimate Home estimate service that provides sellers with an indicative property valuation as a precursor to listing the home for sale.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature3 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• RE/MAX, LLC (parent franchise): Global real estate franchise network and parent brand of RE/MAX Big Bear. Directly comparable because every RE/MAX franchise shares the brand, technology stack, and commission model, and the parent sets the tools and consumer-facing app the subject company depends on.
• Compass: Tech-forward national residential brokerage expanding into luxury and resort markets. Comparable to RE/MAX Big Bear as a competitor for the same agent talent and seller-side listings, and a counterpoint to the traditional brokerage model the subject firm operates.
• Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices: Large national residential brokerage franchise that competes for the same luxury and second-home buyer pool. Comparable as both rely on a strong umbrella brand, agent-driven model, and commission revenue tied to high-end residential transactions.
• Keller Williams Realty: Largest U.S. residential brokerage franchise by agent count with a presence in California mountain and resort markets. Comparable as a competing agent-recruitment and commission-revenue model, and an alternative franchise affiliation for any RE/MAX Big Bear agent considering a move.

Emerging players

• eXp Realty: Cloud-based, agent-centric brokerage with low overhead and no physical office requirement. Comparable as an emerging alternative to traditional brick-and-mortar brokerages, particularly relevant given RE/MAX Big Bear's four-office physical footprint and the trend of agents defecting to virtual models.
• Vacasa: Largest U.S. vacation rental management company. Comparable because it sits on the demand side of the same market — many RE/MAX Big Bear investor clients purchase to list with Vacasa — making it a strategically adjacent counterparty rather than a direct brokerage competitor.
• Realty ONE Group: Fast-growing, modern franchise brokerage with a strong California footprint. Comparable as a competing franchise model targeting entrepreneurial agents, and a structural threat to traditional RE/MAX affiliates in the same geography.

Direct peers

• Sotheby's International Realty: Luxury and resort-property specialist brokerage with strong presence in mountain and vacation markets. Comparable to RE/MAX Big Bear in the second-home and luxury mountain property segment, and competes for the same high-net-worth buyer pool in resort geographies.
• Coldwell Banker (Big Bear / Mountain Region): Major competing residential brokerage with established presence in mountain and resort communities including Big Bear. Directly comparable as both operate traditional agent-based, commission-driven brokerage models targeting second-home and primary-residence buyers in the same geography.

Regional players

• Pacific Sotheby's International Realty: Regional Sotheby's affiliate covering Southern California coastal and resort markets, including Palm Springs. Comparable as a competing luxury brokerage for second-home buyers in the Palm Springs/Desert office territory RE/MAX Big Bear has expanded into.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/RemaxBigBear1
• Facebookfacebook.com/bigbearremax
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/re-max-big-bear

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Re/Max Big Bear