page_title: Keller Williams Realty
section_title: 2010 to 2016 International expansion
hierarchical_section_title: Keller Williams Realty / History / 2010 to 2016 International expansion
caption_attribution_description: English: photo of signing
context_page_description: Keller Williams Realty is an American technology and international real estate franchise with headquarters in Austin, Texas. It is the number one franchise in the United States by sales volume, ranking number one in agents and units sold in 2017. It is also the largest real estate franchise by agent count in the world, and one of the largest privately held global residential real estate brokerages.
  Founded in 1983 by Gary Keller and Joe Williams, it grew from a single office in Austin to approximately 940+ offices with over 180,000 associates worldwide as of May 2018. It is an Inc. 5000 company and has been recognized as one of the highest rated real estate companies by numerous publications, including Entrepreneur and Forbes. In 2018, it was listed as one of the "happiest companies to work for" by Career Bliss. Keller Williams topped Fast Company's list of the World's Most Innovative Companies in the real estate and urban development category for 2019.
context_section_description: By the end of the decade in 2010, Keller Williams had 77,672 real estate agents in the United States. It surpassed Century 21 as the second largest real estate agency in the U.S., two years after taking over the third spot from RE/MAX International. Between 2005 and 2011, the company saw a 40 percent increase in the number of offices in North America. Keller Williams went international in 2012, launching Keller Williams Worldwide as a subdivision to manage its international franchising. It awarded its first overseas franchise in Vietnam in 2012. The same year, franchising of the company was made available in Indonesia and Southern Africa, and in 2013 expanded to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.
  At the end of April 2014, Keller Williams reached 100,575 agents worldwide. This was due to an 18 percent increase in agents during 2013. As of 2014, it is the largest real estate franchise by agent count in North America and the only privately held global residential real estate brokerage. In 2014, the company also announced the opening of a region in Dubai. The first Dubai franchise was awarded to a leadership group affiliated with IFA Hotels & Resorts which is considered the largest foreign investor on the Palm Jumeirah.
caption: Keller Williams Realty franchise signing in South Africa in 2012.
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