From the filed FDD — automated extraction, check the source
2026 FDD
Realty Executives
Residential real estate brokerage · parent company: not identified
Realty Executives is a residential real estate brokerage franchise. A franchisee operates a brokerage office that recruits and supports licensed agents who represent home buyers and sellers, with the office earning fees on agent transactions.
Realty Executives net unit count declined 22.3% over 2023–2025 per its FDD Item 20.
New to franchising? Start here
A franchise is a business where you (the franchisee) pay a company (the franchisor) for the right to open and run a location using their brand and system — think a local Anytime Fitness or Taco John's owned by a small-business owner, not the corporation.
Before you can buy in, U.S. law requires the franchisor to give you a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) — a long legal filing covering its fees, finances, and history. Most numbers on this page come from that document; others come from federal SBA loan records and labor and census data, each labelled with its source:
- Franchise fee — the one-time cost to buy in.
- Royalty — the ongoing cut of your sales you pay the franchisor.
- Item 20 — how many locations opened, transferred and left the system, the main basis for our verdict, which rates how strong the disclosed record is, or says when the system is too new, the filing too old, or the disclosure too thin to judge.
Our rating · opinion
Weaker disclosed record
Below our threshold on the operating record we compute from Item 20 — unit growth, the mix of exits, owner turnover and promise-keeping. What pulls it down: units fell 22% (2023–2025: 287 → 223); most exits were terminations or closures rather than transfers to new owners; the fiscal 2025 exit rate was 21.3%, well above the 7.8% median across 8 comparable systems (residential real estate brokerage). This is our opinion of the filing, not a finding about the franchisor's finances.
Exit rate · fiscal 2025
21.3%
vs 7.8% median across 8 comparable systems (residential real estate brokerage)
Cost to open
$55K–$444K
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan losses
Too few to rate
17 seasoned resolved loans; 30 needed
Market density · Wisconsin
Thin market
28% thinner than the national average
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Data as of 2026-10-29. Figures come from Realty Executives's public FDD filings (latest: MN 2026, extracted 2026-07-22) and SBA FOIA loan records (through FY2026), extracted by us and possibly containing errors. The rating is our opinion, not investment, legal, or tax advice. Franchisor or owner and see something wrong? Report a correction — we review every request.
Buying an existing Realty Executives? Transfer fee $15,000, resale record and asking-price check →
What each source says
FDD record · SBA loans · model · auditor
The sources broadly agree, and the verdict follows the FDD's operating record.
FDD record · Item 20
Weaker operating record
Units fell 22% (2023–2025: 287 → 223); exit rate 21.3% (fiscal 2025) vs 7.8% median.
SBA loans · vs same-year loans
Too few seasoned loans
17 resolved loans approved by FY2020; 30 needed.
Modeled risk
Moderate
Directional only — too few seasoned loans to check it.
Auditor opinion · Item 21
Clean opinion
Unqualified audit, 2026 FDD. Says nothing about franchisee results.
Behind the verdict
the record, factor by factor · Item 20
latest consecutive years · Item 20 Table 1
terminations + ceased-ops vs. all exits · Table 3
transfers vs. base · Table 3
actual vs. projected openings · Table 5
Item 19 disclosure + completeness · shown, not counted in the verdict
Systemwide units
2023–2025
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2025, 55 of 258 franchised outlets left the system — an exit rate of 21.3% (fiscal 2025), vs a 7.8% median across 8 comparable systems (residential real estate brokerage). An exit is not a failure: this counts terminations, non-renewals and "ceased — other reasons" as reported, and excludes transfers to new owners.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 299 | 287 | 258 |
| Opened | 8 | 8 | 20 |
| Transfers | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Terminations | 20 | 37 | 55 |
| Non-renewals | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Outlets at end | 287 | 258 | 223 |
| Net change | -12 | -29 | -35 |
The franchisor's own finances
FDD ITEM 21 · AUDITED STATEMENTS · 2026 FDD
CliftonLarsonAllen LLP gave an unmodified (clean) opinion on the statements in the 2026 FDD; revenue fell 10% from FY2023 to FY2025.
This is the company selling the franchise, not any franchisee. A clean opinion means the statements are fairly presented — not that the business is healthy.
Revenue · FY2025
$5.0M
p. 130 · matched to statement
Net income · FY2025
$1.3M
p. 130 · matched to statement
Where FY2025 revenue came from
89% royalties
initial-fee share not extracted
Show the statement figures ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Fiscal year | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue | $5.6Mp. 148 · matched to statement | $5.3Mp. 130 · matched to statement | $5.0Mp. 130 · matched to statement |
| Royalty revenue | $5.3Mextracted · not cross-checked | $5.1Mextracted · not cross-checked | $4.5Mextracted · not cross-checked |
| Net income (loss) | $1.8Mp. 148 · matched to statement | $1.7Mp. 130 · matched to statement | $1.3Mp. 130 · matched to statement |
| Cash at year end | not extracted | $1.0Mp. 129 | $741Kp. 129 |
The lender's view
SBA 7(a)/504 loan outcomes · compared with franchise loans of the same years
Banks have made 26 SBA-backed loans to Realty Executives franchisees since 1996. Only 17 of its loans approved by FY2020 have resolved — fewer than the 30 we need to compare it fairly with other franchise loans, so we don't rate it.
All-time, 2 of 17 resolved loans charged off (11.8%). That raw figure mixes every approval year since 1996 — loans made in 2006–08 failed at several times the rate of loans made in 2010–13 across all franchises — so it is shown as evidence, not as the score.
—
17 seasoned resolved · 30 needed
11.8%
2 of 17 resolved, every approval year
—
charged-off $ ÷ approved $, defaulted loans
$195,250
what recent franchisees borrowed
—
shown with 10+ defaults
2 vs 2
distinct banks still lending
Charge-off rate by loan approval year (%) · dashed line = all franchise loans that year
Loan performance by state
SOURCE: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA LOAN DATA (DATA.SBA.GOV), FY1991–PRESENT · MATCHED TO REALTY EXECUTIVES BY SBA FRANCHISE NAME/CODE · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL · EXPECTED = SAME-YEAR RATE ACROSS ALL SBA FRANCHISE LOANS, LOANS ≥ ~6 YEARS OLD
What it costs — and what it drags
FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty
Buying in means a $37,000 franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $55K–$444K (Item 7). The franchisor publishes no earnings claim (Item 19) — ask current and former franchisees for real numbers.
To open (Item 7)
$55K–$444K
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$37,000
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
See Item 6
not a single flat % — read the fee table
This is not profit. It covers what the FDD fixes: what you put in, and the royalty you owe on sales. Your take-home depends on agent commission splits, office costs, and the months to breakeven, none of which the FDD fixes for your unit (some Item 19s include cost data — read it).
Build a real pro-forma for Realty Executives with a buyer-paid CPALabor record
US Dept. of Labor enforcement · franchisee-level · FY2005–present
Federal investigators have concluded 2 wage cases against operators of this system, recovering $888 in back wages for 4 workers. These cases name franchisee-owned locations, not the franchisor itself.
Concluded cases
2
Back wages owed
$888
Employees affected
4
Since 2020
0
Read this carefully. The employers in these cases are individual Realty Executives franchisees — separately owned businesses operating under the brand name — not Realty Executives itself. The franchisor is not the respondent and in most cases is not a party. What the record shows is how this system's operators run their payrolls, which is worth knowing before you become one of them. Counts rise with system size and with age: a 20-year-old, 10,000-unit system will out-count a young one regardless of conduct. Cases are matched to the brand by trade name and may include misattributed employers. Source: DOL Wage and Hour Division concluded compliance actions, FY2005–present, most recent finding 2013.
Modeled risk
FDD Risk Score · a prediction from disclosure and loan-file features
The model puts this brand in its moderate band — but this brand has too few seasoned SBA loans to check the score against, so read it as a band, not a number.
Risk percentile
Moderate
Directional · no point estimate
Modeled · vs same-year loans
band only
too few seasoned loans to check
Top drivers: Item 20 exit rate (raises) · No Item 19 disclosure (lowers) · Item 3 litigation (log) (lowers) · Net unit growth (lowers). Too few seasoned SBA loans to check the score — read it as a band. A linear scorecard trained on brands' vintage-adjusted SBA loss records; full spec and cross-validated accuracy on the methodology page. A score is context, not a verdict.
Public records
Bankruptcy, closure & federal court records · coverage is selective · dockets are not scored
We have no verified public-record signals published for Realty Executives. This is not evidence that no events exist. Check PACER, the FDD's Item 3 (litigation) and Item 4 (bankruptcy), and recent news yourself.
8 questions to ask a Realty Executives franchisee
Built from this brand's own disclosures · take it to your validation calls
The franchisor will give you a list of owners to call. Most buyers ask whether they like it. These questions come from what Realty Executives has disclosed. Each one carries the number it came from, so you can check the answer against the record.
- 01
Realty Executives’ own Item 20 shows 55 of 258 franchised outlets left the system in fiscal 2025 — about 21.3%. Do you know any of those owners, and do you know why they left?
A franchisor will call these “transitions.” An owner three doors down usually knows whether they sold at a profit or handed the keys back.
FDD Item 20 · FY2025
- 02
The system went from 287 units to 223 over 3 disclosed years. What's the explanation you've been given, and do you believe it?
A shrinking system means fewer owners funding the ad fund and support staff you're paying for.
FDD Item 20 · FY2023–FY2025
- 03
Realty Executives’ FDD makes no financial performance representation at all — legally, they've told buyers nothing about earnings. What did your first 24 months actually look like, month by month?
When a franchisor won't publish numbers, existing owners are the only source. Silence in Item 19 is a choice, not a requirement.
FDD Item 19 · 2026
- 04
How many months did it take to cover your own costs, and how much cash did you burn getting there?
Ramp-to-breakeven working capital is the most underestimated line in any franchise purchase, and the most common reason otherwise-good units fail.
Not disclosed in any FDD — ask an owner
- 05
Item 3 discloses 9 legal matters. Do you know what those were about, and were any brought by franchisees?
Franchisee-brought suits over territory, fees or support tell you how the franchisor behaves when there's a disagreement.
FDD Item 3 · 2026
- 06
What does the franchisor charge for that you didn't expect — required tech fees, mandatory remodels, approved-supplier pricing?
Required spending appears across Items 6, 8 and 11 rather than in one place, so buyers routinely miss the total.
FDD Items 6, 8, 11
- 07
If your agreement came up for renewal tomorrow at current terms, would you sign again?
The single most predictive question you can ask. A hesitation is the answer.
Ask every owner you speak to
- 08
Who else should I call — including someone who left?
The franchisor's list is curated by definition. Former franchisees are where the unflattering truth lives, and current owners usually know how to reach them.
Ask every owner you speak to
Want this as a checklist you can take to the calls?
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A broker is usually paid by the franchisor to place you. I'm paid only by you, never by a franchisor you're considering — and the job is pressure-testing Realty Executives’ numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
This page is what buyers see before they call you for validation. If the record above is wrong — or right in a way the numbers can't show — say so. Franchisors: send corrections with the page reference and we will review them against the filing and update or annotate the page. Corrections are checked against the filings; nothing you write is published with your name unless you agree to it.
Realty Executives franchise questions, answered from the filings
How many Realty Executives franchised outlets left the system last year?
In Realty Executives's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2025), 55 of 258 franchised outlets left the system — an exit rate of 21.3% — compared with a 7.8% median across 8 comparable systems (residential real estate brokerage) tracked here. That counts terminations, non-renewals, and "ceased operations — other reasons" as the franchisor reported them; it excludes transfers to new owners. The FDD does not say why each outlet left, and an exit is not the same as a failure.
How much does a Realty Executives franchise cost?
Per Realty Executives's 2026 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $37,000 (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $55K–$444K (Item 7).
Does Realty Executives disclose earnings (Item 19)?
No — Realty Executives's 2026 FDD makes no financial performance representation in Item 19. That is legal and common, but it means the franchisor publishes no earnings claim; ask current franchisees for real numbers.