CENTURY 21 Real Estate LLC Tops List of Fastest Growing Franchises

Entrepreneur magazine list ranks brands with greatest growth in past year

March 9, 2021, Vancouver— Entrepreneur magazine has released its annual list of Fastest-Growing Franchises, and CENTURY 21 Real Estate LLC takes the number one spot in the 2021 rankings. The fastest-growing ranking is based on the net total new units worldwide from July 2019 to July 2020. (In previous years, only US and Canadian unit growth was considered—2021 marks the first year that the ranking is based on systemwide growth, in recognition of the increasingly global nature of franchising.)

“This is very exciting news for the company,” says Vice Chairman and CEO of CENTURY 21 Canada Martin Charlwood. “We know this is a great brand to be associated with, and it looks like the rest of the world is seeing the value of the brand as well.”

The success on the global stage is evident in Canada. In 2020, CENTURY 21 Canada had 13 of its existing franchises renew with the company. It also had nine new franchises open its doors, and another two so far in 2021. “We feel we offer the best value for REALTORS^®—from technology, to training and culture,” says Executive Vice-President Brian Rushton.

CENTURY 21 has been operating in Canada for 45 years and its franchise owners and Realtors also rank highly in global rankings. In 2020, Mark Li from CENTURY 21 Leading Edge Realty in Toronto was the #1 Producer in the world, and The Goodale Miller Team from CENTURY 21 Miller Real Estate was the number one team. Canada also had seven of the top 21 companies in the world and ten of the top 21 offices.

Charlwood adds, “This past year once again confirmed that owning real estate is very important to Canadians as many people have really assessed their surroundings with purpose, and we are happy to have our Realtors deliver the gold standard to clients from coast to coast.”

New logo and redesign invigorates the brand

The renewed interest in the brand is no surprise to some Canadian network members. Troy Vaillancourt, broker of CENTURY 21 Shield Realty in Cornwall, Ontario, credits the new logo and brand design for modernizing the CENTURY 21 image in consumer’s minds. He had been with another brand for many years when he was approached to be an owner at CENTURY 21 in 2017.

“I originally saw CENTURY 21 as a dated company but liked the legacy it has in Canada and around the world. Once the new brand identity was launched in 2018, I noticed a real shift in the perception of the brand. Now, knowing everything that CENTURY 21 Canada offers to real estate professionals and consumers, it doesn’t surprise me that more people are seeing the value of the company.”

Vaillancourt lives and works in a smaller community and says that he’s certainly seeing how the brand now appeals to a younger demographic. CENTURY 21 has always been part of local communities in Canada, raising more than $11 million for Easter Seals since 1978. “The culture feels like a family business even though we are all independent franchises across the country.”