Windermere Real Estate franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a Windermere Real Estate franchise takes $271,000 – $1,171,000 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $25,000. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 5% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 1%. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
Windermere Real Estate franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $25,000 | $25,000 | $25,000 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $271,000 | $1,171,000 | $271,000 to $1,171,000 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $271,000 | $1,171,000 | $271,000 to $1,171,000 | |
- 1 "Not disclosed" means Windermere Real Estate's filings do not state this figure. We publish the gap instead of estimating it.
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 5% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Up to 1% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 5 years |
See the full Windermere Real Estate cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How Windermere Real Estate's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where Windermere Real Estate's disclosed cost sits against the Professional Services category:
- Minimum startup cost of $271,000 — about 3.2× the Professional Services median of $84,700.
- Initial franchise fee of $25,000 — about 37% below the Professional Services median of $39,700.
Category medians are computed from the Professional Services brands in our data that disclosed each figure — a benchmark for scale, not a quality judgment. See all Professional Services franchises
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How Windermere Real Estate's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2012–2020: began the window at 284 units; 50 units opened, 53 closed, ending at 1 units. (partial records: 2016, 2017, 2018 are not in the source data — totals span the reported years only.)
Not enough history to compute a survival figure — we need at least three years of unit data, and we don't extrapolate.
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for Windermere Real Estate or anyone else. The only primary source is Item 19 of the brand's own franchise disclosure document (FDD), and no law requires a franchisor to publish one, so the "average owner income" numbers circulating elsewhere are usually unsourced or survivorship-biased. Ask Windermere Real Estate for its current FDD and read Item 19 yourself — and if there is no Item 19, that silence is information too.
What this data can't tell you
Everything on this page comes from disclosure filings — fees, ranges, and unit counts. Four questions that matter just as much are not in any filing we can source, so we say so instead of guessing:
- The hours and the labor
- No dataset field says whether Windermere Real Estate is a manage-from-a-laptop business or a 60-hour week in disguise. Item 15 of the FDD states whether you're obligated to run the business personally, and Item 11 lists what the franchisor actually does for you — then ask current owners what their week looks like (validation calls), not the sales team.
- How hands-on the ownership really is
- "Semi-absentee" is a pitch, not a filing field. Treat any hands-off claim as unverified until it's consistent with Item 15 and with what multiple current franchisees tell you — what absentee ownership actually means.
- Your territory — whether it's protected, and whether it's open
- Two territory questions sit outside our data. Whether Windermere Real Estate grants a protected or exclusive area is set in Item 12 of the FDD and varies brand to brand — some grant none, and the carve-outs (online sales, national accounts) matter as much as the map. And filing data can't say what's open in your market this month; only Windermere Real Estate can confirm current availability. Ask both before you inquire, and get the answer in writing.
- What owners earn
- Covered honestly above: our dataset has no earnings fields, the only primary source is the brand's own Item 19, and here is how to read that evidence.
About the Windermere Real Estate franchise
Windermere Real Estate is a professional services franchisor with 1 unit at the end of 2020 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2012 and 2020, it began the window at 284 units; its filings record 50 unit openings and 53 closures, ending at 1 units (partial records: 2016, 2017, 2018 are not in the source data — totals span the reported years only).
Disclosure filings report 3 franchise-related lawsuits. Review Item 3 of the FDD. (as of 2026-05)
From the franchisor's materials
Windermere franchisees use the Windermere Trademarks and Windermere System in providing real estate brokerage services to customers who wish to buy, sell, or lease real property
Windermere Real Estate franchise: quick answers
- How much does a Windermere Real Estate franchise cost?
- $271,000 – $1,171,000 all-in to open, per Windermere Real Estate's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many Windermere Real Estate units are there?
- 1 unit at the end of 2020 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).