ERA Franchise Systems, Inc., one of the world’s residential real estate leaders, continued its remarkable growth in 2001, posting a 62 percent increase in core franchise sales as compared to 2000.

Franchise sales increases are measured by the annual Gross Closed Commissions (GCC) of brokerages affiliated with ERA Real Estate during each quarter. Royalties paid to ERA Real Estate are based on a percentage of the GCC.

For the year ended December 31, 2001, ERA Real Estate generated franchise sales of $98.3 million compared to $60.5 million during the same period in the previous year.

Brenda W. Casserly, president & COO, ERA Franchise Systems, Inc. said, “Our remarkable growth in 2001 demonstrates our commitment to helping our affiliates and the ERA brand grow. The technology, training and marketing tools ERA offers to its affiliates are attracting high-quality companies that are looking to capitalize on their current success while taking their growth to the next level.”

Like the company’s first three quarters of 2001, franchise sales growth was notable in the fourth quarter with $22.6 million in GCC, 32 percent higher than the $17.1 million tallied during the same period in 2000.

The network’s growth was led by the affiliation of many multi-office brokerages throughout the nation. These affiliations include ERA Stirling Realty (Lafayette, LA), ERA National Realty of Arizona (Prescott, AZ), ERA Harvey McLean & Associates (Dallas, TX) and ERA Excel Realty (Henderson & Las Vegas, NV).

The benefit of affiliation is clear to the principal of ERA Shields, the largest real estate brokerage in Colorado Springs, which joined the ERA network in 2001. “As a result of our recent affiliation, our clients have gained greater exposure of their properties through ERA.com. They also have the option of buyer and seller protection plans as well as helpful financing programs,” says Bill Hurt, president and owner of ERA Shields. “In addition to our customers benefiting from the ERA brand, our sales associates now have access to a variety of technologies, training programs and more marketing power.”