COLUMBUS, Ohio – (June 4, 2008) – Real Living Inc., the first women-focused brand in real estate, announced its affiliation with Abio AHK Realty in Dallas. Abio was built upon the successful career of CEO Bettie Abio and remains among the most creative and innovative of brokerages with two offices and more than 90 agents serving the greater Dallas area. Abio’s offices, located in Turtle Creek and Canton, Texas, will now be named Real Living Abio Advantage.
The two companies joining together create a mutual fit. Real Living’s growth goals for 2008 include strengthening market share in markets where offices are currently located while Abio AHK was striving to improve technology, tools and agent systems to keep pace.“This is great for our company,” said Kaira Sturdivant Rouda, president of Real Living. “We are always growing with like-minded brokers, and Bettie Abio is a woman who represents everything we look for in a leader.”Real Living staked its claim to the female consumer in 2002 when two Ohio companies (HER Realtors in central Ohio and Realty One in northeastern Ohio) merged and the Real Living brand was born. Today, close to 40 percent of Real Living’s franchise owners are women.“Even prior to the formation of Real Living, our company understood the importance and relevance of the female consumer. As our brand extends nationally, many strong women CEOs like Bettie are the ones who understand us most and who embody how the brand should be portrayed. Many other brands are still talking to themselves,” added Rouda.This affiliation was a major decision for Bettie Abio whose brand has become a household name and connected to the upscale market. “We would have never considered franchising with anyone other than Real Living. Their brand is complementary to ours in attracting the upscale female consumer,” said Abio. “Real Living’s marketing is spot-on and recognizes the consumer we’ve always been associated with.”Brand and technology were not the only reasons for the affiliation. “Real Living’s leadership has a vision that I believe will revolutionize the industry. Their forward-thinking culture and focus on family, innovation and results were in line with our mission,” added Sales Manager Linda Argo, of Real Living Abio Advantage.Real Living boasts close to 4,000 agents throughout 20 states. The franchisees who affiliate with Real Living today understand the brand, desire a fresh and unique brand/culture, value technology and are growth oriented.For more information, visit
www.RealLivingAbioAdvantage.com or
www.RealLiving.com.
About Real Living Inc.Real Living, based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the nation’s fastest-growing real estate franchisors with more than 4,000 agents and 170 offices, coast to coast. Offering consumers a full suite of home and lifestyle services, Real Living also offers corporations industry-leading relocation management services. Real Living was named one of the best new franchises by Entrepreneur magazine and winner of the Inman Innovator Award. Real Living’s award-winning Web sites receive nearly 17 million page views per month. For more information, visit
RealLiving.com or
RealLivingFranchise.com.