FranchiseVerdict
ERA Real Estate logo
FV-00868·MODERATEExcellent81

ERA Real Estate

Real EstateFranchising since 1972Website
Investment
$33K – $447K
22nd pct Real Estate
Avg revenue
32nd pct Real Estate
Royalty
6.0%
27th pct Real Estate
Units
464
90th pct Real Estate
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $33K – $447K including a $25K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 63/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 12 loans (below the industry average).
  • 17 litigation matters disclosed in Item 3 — higher than typical. Review the summary for patterns (franchisor-initiated vs. franchisee-initiated).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
ERA Franchise Systems LLC
Parent company
Anywhere Real Estate Inc.
Incorporated in
Delaware
HQ
175 Park Avenue, Madison, New Jersey 07940
Auditor
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$7K
vs $6K prior year

Yale framework · single-unit ROIC

Returns Analysis

Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.

The model · Yale framework

What would one ERA Real Estate unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $33K–$447K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $15K–$100K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

39%

In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$116K
EBITDA margin
15.5%
Total invested
$298K
Payback
31 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Overview

About

ERA Real Estate franchisees operate residential real estate brokerage offices, managing agents who list and sell properties, handling client transactions, and generating revenue through buyer-broker commissions. Day-to-day operations include recruiting and training agents, managing listings, closing transactions, and remitting 6% royalties to ERA on gross revenues while navigating increasingly complex commission structures under regulatory scrutiny.

CEO
Alex Vidal
Founded
1996
FDD year
2024
States available
44

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$33K – $447K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$15K – $100K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$25K
Royalty
6.0%
Gross Revenue · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
1.5%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
7.5%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
464
Opened
31
Last reporting year
Closed
25
Turnover rate
5.4%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
-1.3%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-1.7%
Compounded over last 3 years
2022
464-6
Franchised units
2023
470
Franchised units
2024
472
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 23 states with active franchisees

The Territory Map

Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator — not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 23 states
Not registered

States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.

Government records

SBA Loan Data

Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.

Total loans
12
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

63
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE63 / 100

ERA Real Estate presents high-risk investment characteristics: a shrinking franchise network, hidden financial performance metrics, active antitrust litigation threatening the business model, unprotected territory, and documented franchisor-franchisee disputes.

Score breakdown · what drove the 63 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORDeclining unit count (-1.3% YoY) signals system contraction and potential franchisee dissatisfaction
  2. 02MEDNo disclosed average revenue or net income (missing FTC Item 19) prevents accurate ROI assessment and suggests underperformance
  3. 03MEDMultiple active antitrust class actions (Moehrl, Burnett, etc.) regarding commission practices create regulatory and reputational risk to franchisees
  4. 04MINORUnprotected territory exposes franchisees to direct competition from other ERA licensees and internal cannibalization
  5. 05MINORPending and resolved contract disputes with former franchisees indicate potential franchisor-franchisee relationship issues
  6. 06MEDHigh investment range ($33K-$447K) combined with 6% royalty on undisclosed revenues creates profitability uncertainty
  7. 07HIGHTrademark infringement litigation suggests brand IP vulnerabilities that could affect franchisee operations

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Protected territory
No
Initial term
10 years
Online sales rights
Granted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
17
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
No
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
New Jersey

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
25 hrs
On-the-job training
0 hrs
POS system
Internet Reporting System
Operating tech stack

Item 20

Franchisee Contacts

Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.

Franchisee contacts

100 numbers

Locked
(860) 646-••••
CT
(850) 682-••••
FL
(904) 261-••••
FL

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

ERA Real Estate · FDD (2024) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above