descriptionThe Franchise Dossier
FDD Sourced
Independent analysis. Not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Coldwell Banker. All figures sourced from public FDD filings.
Franchise dossier · Real estate brokerage

Owning a Coldwell Banker: what actually happens

VERDICT · ASSET — IF YOU SCALE
A strong listing brand on thin brokerage margins: the royalty comes off the gross commission, and the agents remain free to leave.
You'd pocket / yr*
$35K–$110K
1 unit · before your salary
Your time
50–65 hrs/wk
owner-operator
Becomes an asset at
~1 unit
real wealth: 40-60+ agents
Agreement term
10 yrs
then renewal
Year one, honestly

Year one is recruiting and retention. Most new Coldwell Banker franchisees are existing brokerages converting to the brand, which is why the low end of Item 7 is only about $33K: they already have the office and the agents. A cold start means funding a lease, an administrator and the brand's office standards while you build a roster, usually while still selling personally. Because the royalty resets to its top rate each January, the first closings of every year carry the heaviest fee load.

If you want out

Value is the agent roster and the company dollar it produces. Established multi-office Coldwell Banker affiliates do sell, typically to other brokers or regional groups, at a modest multiple of cash flow; small offices more often merge into a neighbor. With a 10-year term and no renewal rights, late-term sales depend on the franchisor granting the buyer a new agreement, and the brand's owner changed in 2026 when Compass completed its acquisition of Anywhere Real Estate.

Smart for

An established independent broker with a solid roster, especially in the upper end of a market where the Coldwell Banker and Global Luxury names help win listings.

Dumb for

Someone without an existing agent following, or anyone who has not modeled 5.5% of gross commission against the 15-30% the office actually keeps.

The disclosure it's built on

The verdict above is our read of the numbers Coldwell Banker files with regulators — here they are, cited.

Coldwell BankerFDD 2025
Item 5 · Initial franchise fee
$25,000
Item 7 · Initial investment
$32,870 – $514,675
Item 6 · Royalty
5.5% of gross commission revenue, declining as annual volume grows
Item 6 · Ad / brand fund
0.5% brand marketing fund
Item 19 · Avg unit revenue
Not disclosed
Item 20 · US units (~2025)
1,297
SOURCEFranchise Direct 2025 FDD summary: initial fee $0-$25,000, Item 7 $32,870-$514,675, royalty set at 5.5% of gross revenue each January 1 with a declining percentage on incremental revenue, brand marketing fund 0.50%, 10-year term, no renewal rights (high confidence). Franzy (2024 FDD) and FranchiseOverview agree on $25,000, 5.5% and 0.5%; FranchisePayback's 2026 FDD summary splits Item 7 into conversion $33,970-$334,475 and start-up $115,470-$521,775. One aggregator page showing 6% and 3% is for Coldwell Banker Commercial, a separate program. Units: FranchisePayback 1,297 franchised + 484 company-owned; Franzy 1,351 + 551 a year earlier (medium confidence). No Item 19: FranchiseOverview (high confidence). Ownership: Compass 2026 Form 10-Q describes the Anywhere merger as completed.
The catch

The royalty resets to 5.5% of gross revenue every January 1 and only steps down as the office's revenue builds through the year, and it is charged on the full commission before agent splits. Since a brokerage usually keeps about 15-30% of a commission after paying its agents, the royalty is a large share of what the office retains. You also share the brand with the franchisor's own affiliate: FDD summaries show roughly 480-550 company-owned Coldwell Banker offices alongside about 1,300 franchised ones, so in some markets the company-owned operation recruits from the same agent pool. The term is 10 years with no renewal rights.

*How to read these numbers. Disclosed (FDD summary): fee up to $25,000, Item 7 $32,870-$514,675, 5.5% declining royalty on gross revenue, 0.5% brand marketing fund, 10-year term, no Item 19. Cost structure is expressed as a share of gross commission revenue; the cogs line is agent commission splits. Splits, overhead and the take-home estimate ($35K-$110K, brokerage operations only, before the owner's own sales, modeled on a 20-35 agent office) are ESTIMATES from brokerage-industry norms, not FDD figures (low confidence). The royalty step-down thresholds were not available in the summaries opened. — "You'd pocket" is estimated owner cash flow for one average unit before a salary for your own full-time work, so it is not take-home pay. Averages are not promises; your unit could earn far less. This is analysis, not advice — read the current FDD in full and talk to current and former franchisees before you commit.

Seriously considering Coldwell Banker?

Pressure-test the affordability, then read the full FDD and validate Item 19 (or its absence) with existing franchisees. When we add vetted franchise-consultant and financing partners, they'll be clearly disclosed here and never change our analysis.

Run a rough affordability check →