Keller Williams on Monday announced the opening of franchises in Albania and Mongolia, both of which are part of the brand’s continued global expansion.

According to a statement from Keller Williams, the two new franchises are both in the process of “launching operations”. In Albania – which is just north of Greece – Genti Skenderaj will serve as regional operations manager, and the franchise will open its first market center, or office, in the third quarter of this year.

In a statement released on Monday, Skenderaj said that “although we are a small country, our dreams are very big and ambitious”.

“We aim to become the largest real estate company in Albania within five years, using the models and systems, technology and training of Keller Williams,” said Skenderaj.

Odsuren Lkhagvasuren will serve as regional operations manager for the Mongolian franchise, which is also starting operations and plans to open a market center in the third quarter of the year. Lkhagvasuren praised Keller Williams in the statement, describing that the brand has a “particularly strong culture” which will enable the team to “develop our people and the real estate profession as a whole in Mongolia”.

“In Mongolia, real estate is a young profession and most of the existing agents are young,” Lkhagvasuren said. “There is a strong demand for a healthy environment where agents can learn and grow in their professional and personal lives.”

Also in the statement, William E. Soteroff – president of Keller Williams’ international division, Keller Williams Worldwide – said the company was “honored to present two impressive world-class leaders”.

“While we remain focused on the future, adding these two new regions to our global family builds on our proud past,” Soteroff added.

Keller Williams announced the two new franchises as part of an update on the company’s international reach. Among other things, the statement revealed that as of March 31, there were 12,912 Keller Williams agents outside of the United States and Canada – a number up 23.1% from a year ago. These agents achieved 13,088 sales in the first quarter of this year, up 58.7% year-over-year, and achieved a volume of $ 2.5 billion, up 100.9%.

In total, Keller Williams Worldwide has 265 market centers outside of the United States and Canada. In order to start an international Keller Williams franchise, a potential director must have “a skilled management team rooted in the Keller Williams culture,” the company statement explains.

“The company also aims for the stability of the government, the banking and judicial system and a higher level of maturity for a real estate market,” the statement added.

The announcement of two distant new franchises comes as speculation is mounting that the company could go public in the near future, although Keller Williams himself has not confirmed any plans to start selling shares.

Beyond English-speaking North America and the two new markets, Keller Williams operates internationally in South America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the Caribbean.

Soteroff added in the statement that “despite the COVID conditions, it is our unique privilege to once again report robust growth across the world.”

“The credit for our continued momentum year over year lies with our people,” he added, “the driving force and foundation of our culture and our strong agent-centric systems and models,” he added. backed by powerful technology. ”

Email Jim Dalrymple II