‘Our agents are our brand’: Why Estate Properties chose independence 

After more than four decades as a RE/MAX franchisee, Los Angeles luxury brokerage Estate Properties launched as an independent operation earlier this year to invest in its agents and its local community.

The brokerage was founded in 1984 by Sandra Sanders, now 90, who retired during the pandemic and remains a partner as well as chairman of the board. Day-to-day operations are led by her three children, also partners in the firm: James Sanders as CEO, Diane Sanders as CMO and John Sanders as CTO.

Seeing diminishing returns, it was time to move on 

James and Diane said the time spent as a franchisee was a great opportunity, but that it was time to go it alone and reallocate the franchise fees closer to home.

"We decided we wanted to reassign our resources instead of paying a national brand," Diane said. "We wanted to dump that money into the local community and provide our agents with support."   

With most of their franchise contracts coming up for renewal in the first quarter of 2025, Estate Properties weighed its options and decided it was time to try a new direction — in part, because many of the benefits associated with being a franchisee had become duplicative and unnecessary. 

Over the years, the brokerage had developed its own in-house systems tailored to its agents and clientele: a full-fledged marketing department, IT department, legal hotline, training programs, customer relationship management system and a transaction department. It no longer needed to rely on the resources of a national brand.

Focusing on the best of the best

The luxury market is competitive, and Estate Properties has been customizing and refining its offerings to keep up with new boutique companies that cater to high-end clientele. To that end, the brokerage has focused on elite, high-performing agents.

"We want to cater to the top agents and give them the tools and resources they need," Diane said. "We don't want to hang every license in California under our brokerage. We want to be an almost members-only feeling."

With that in mind, the brokerage has thinned its numbers from a one-time high of 750 down to about 450.  

Those top agents are more important to Estate Properties and to homebuyers and sellers than a national brand.

"We asked all our top agents, 'Do your clients actually know what brokerage you work for?'" James said. "They don't. These agents create their own logos and their own team names. Our agents are our brand. The brokerage is just the support."

'We work for the agents'

The agent-first mindset at Estate Properties is woven into its culture. "We work for the agents; they don't work for us," Diane said. "In the old days, the broker dictated exactly what you did. It's not like that anymore."

The Sanders have been intentional about creating a community and culture that makes agents proud to work with them. They know the names of all their agents — and their families and dogs, Diane adds — and they provide regular opportunities for agents to network, support one another, celebrate success and continue to learn.

During the pandemic, the brokerage established a state-of-the-art video production studio. It offers trainings and hosts three networking meetings each week, all of which are broadcast to agents who work across the vast geographical area, so they don't have to battle traffic to benefit. A recent legal training was focused on new laws impacting real estate.   

The studio is available to agents to create their own marketing reels or other digital marketing assets. Diane also buys a lot of print advertising in local trade magazines to highlight agents. 

Choosing culture over brand

A few agents did leave when Estate Properties pivoted to be independent, but the brokerage has seen an increase in interest from new agents — and from former agents.

"We had a lot of agents that left that want to come back because they didn't align with a national brand and they like our culture," James said. "We're recruiting like crazy."

And while Estate Properties had its specific reasons for going independent, the Sanders family is not alone in making such a shift.

"We're seeing a clear trend away from traditional franchise models and toward boutique, independently owned brokerages — like ours — that can move swiftly, adapt to change, and deliver a more personalized experience to both agents and clients," Diane said.