RE/MAX has arrived in the second Scandinavian country -- and the 35th around the world.

Ramon Mazumdar and Goran Pagrot, partners for the last nine years in their own independent real estate office, are co-region owners. They bring the RE/MAX real estate franchise concept to an industry in which there is no MLS and no cooperation among agents.

"There is no such thing as the listing agent/selling agent concept," Mazumdar says. "If I get a listing, I'm the only person who can sell it. But, with RE/MAX, if I have a friend who has a house to sell in another part of Stockholm, we will cooperate with another RE/MAX office in that part of the city. Nobody else does that in Sweden."

Mazumdar and Pagrot investigated other real estate networks before deciding to go with RE/MAX.

"We wanted to be international," Mazumdar says. "And RE/MAX seems very strong. In Sweden, the major franchises have a restricted area. We want to work everywhere. Another big difference is that we are independent owners -- and they are owned by Wall Street."

Sweden, about the size of California, has a population of nine million, with 1.5 million in Stockholm, headquarter city for RE/MAX Sweden. Mazumdar and Pagrot agree that Sweden can accommodate 80 to 100 RE/MAX offices.

"This is truly and exciting opportunity for RE/MAX," said Cliff Shillington, RE/MAX vice president of international franchise development. "The entire European continent has shown great entrepreneurial interests in the RE/MAX system. We are fortunate to have quality people like Ramon and Goran. Their creativity and experience are great assets for the RE/MAX network worldwide."

Mazumdar and Pagrot plan to take advantage of the international RE/MAX network.

"Lots of Swedes buy vacation homes in Spain and throughout Europe," Mazumdar says. "We will cooperate with RE/MAX Spain and other European countries."

Published: October 12, 2000

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