Keller Williams now 3rd LARGEST Real Estate Franchise

Austin-based Keller Williams Realty is now the third-largest real estate franchise in the country, as measured by number of agents.

Keller Williams had 72,794 agents at the end of 2008, according to Real Trends, a trade publication. That pulled it ahead of Re/Max International, which had been third.

The company has 679 offices in the United States, and said it distributed $30 million in profits to agents last year under a profit-sharing program.

Keller Williams focuses on residential real estate but last year launched a commercial division, which now has 220 brokers in the U.S. and Canada.