Buying a real estate brokerage, appraisal or title business in Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay has 34 established real estate brokerages, appraisal firms and title agencies by our count: companies in business at least 15 years that still file with the state every year and aren't part of a larger group. Of those, 91% have been in business 20 years or more. Most will never be listed for sale, and many of their owners have never been asked.
What it takes to own one
Real estate brokerages, appraisal firms and title agencies in Tampa Bay come in every size. Here's what owning one could look like at three levels, from a solid company to one of the leaders, with a small business loan covering most of the price.
- Earns about
- $46,000 a year
- Price about
- $127,000
- Your cash
- $18,000
- Could pay you
- up to $23,000 a year
- Earns about
- $255,000 a year
- Price about
- $701,000
- Your cash
- $98,000
- Could pay you
- up to $128,000 a year
- Earns about
- $384,000 a year
- Price about
- $1.1 million
- Your cash
- $148,000
- Could pay you
- up to $194,000 a year
Earnings are owner earnings: profit plus what the owner pays themselves, before loan payments and taxes. They and the prices are our estimates from public records, not the owners' figures, and we value companies like these at about 2.8 times a year's owner earnings. Your cash covers the down payment and closing costs, and what the business could pay you is what's left after the loan payments and the cushion lenders require. The more cash you bring, the further up you can go.
Age, size and location
Revenue is our estimate from public records, grouped into wide ranges.
| In business | Companies |
|---|---|
| Under 20 years | 3 |
| 20 to 29 years | 22 |
| 30 to 39 years | 6 |
| 40 years or more | 3 |
| Estimated yearly revenue | Companies |
|---|---|
| Under $1M | 9 |
| $1M to $2M | 2 |
| $2M to $4M | 3 |
| County | Companies |
|---|---|
| Hillsborough | 13 |
| Polk | 10 |
| Pinellas | 6 |
| Other counties | 5 |
| Town | Companies |
|---|---|
| Tampa | 8 |
| Lakeland | 7 |
What the best of them have in common
- Brokerage: productive agents who have stayed for years, rather than a long list of inactive licenses, and a name and lead sources that belong to the firm.
- Appraisal: several licensed appraisers, a mix of lender and private clients, and a clean review history.
- Title: referrals from many lenders, builders, real estate offices and attorneys; experienced closers; and clean escrow records and underwriter audits.
- Revenue that held up reasonably well in a slow year.
- Rental management accounts under signed agreements, which add steadier monthly fees.
- Good systems for documents, escrow and record keeping.
- An owner who isn't the biggest producer.
- Licenses, registrations and errors and omissions coverage (professional liability insurance) that are current, with no history of discipline.
What to check before you buy
- The housing cycle. Look at revenue in the slowest recent year, not just the best. Title and appraisal work tied to refinancing can fall fast when rates rise.
- People. Agents and appraisers can usually leave whenever they like. Find out who produces most of the revenue and what would keep them.
- Escrow and trust accounts. Read the monthly reconciliations, underwriter audit reports and any complaints to the commission or the department.
- Claims and fraud. Errors and omissions insurance history, title claims, and controls against wire fraud at closing.
- Referral arrangements. Federal law (RESPA, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act) restricts paying for referrals of settlement services. Have an attorney review any marketing or joint venture agreements.
- Franchise. If the brokerage operates under a franchise, check whether the agreement can move to you and on what terms.
- Florida insurance. Ask how often trouble getting property insurance has delayed or killed closings.
Questions to ask the owner
- Who are your top agents, appraisers or closers, and how long have they been with you?
- How did the business do the last time home sales slowed down?
- Where do most of your deals or orders come from?
- Has an escrow account ever been short or failed an audit?
- Have you had any errors and omissions claims, title claims or wire fraud attempts?
- If you're part of a franchise, can the agreement move to a new owner?
- After the sale, who would serve as broker of record or agent in charge?
To learn what these companies do, which licenses they need and how ownership works, read our full guide to buying a real estate brokerage, appraisal or title business in Florida.
Owning a company in Tampa Bay
The local economy
Tampa Bay, as we draw it, runs from Citrus County south through Hernando, Pasco, Pinellas and Hillsborough, and east into Polk: Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Brandon, Wesley Chapel, Brooksville, Inverness, Lakeland and Winter Haven. Tampa is the business center, with Port Tampa Bay, Tampa International Airport, the University of South Florida and MacDill Air Force Base, home to the headquarters of U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command. Financial services, insurance and health care employ many people, and the Gulf beaches of Pinellas bring tourists and seasonal residents.
Polk County sits on Interstate 4 between Tampa and Orlando and has become a center for warehouses and distribution, alongside its older citrus and phosphate industries. To the north, Pasco, Hernando and Citrus are more suburban and rural, with many retirees. Home service companies, the building trades, medical practices and auto businesses all have a deep customer base across the region.
What's different about owning a company here
Hurricane Helene's storm surge in September 2024 and Hurricane Milton two weeks later both hit the region hard. Flood zones and insurance costs now matter in any deal near the water. Ask how the business came through those storms, what it claimed, and whether its building sits in a flood zone.
The labor market is deep by Florida standards, though skilled tradespeople can still be hard to find. New homes have pushed north and east into Pasco and eastern Hillsborough, and along Interstate 4 in Polk, bringing demand for services with them. Coastal Pinellas is more seasonal than inland Tampa or Lakeland. The bay itself shapes a service company's territory: crossing a bridge at rush hour can turn a short distance into a long drive, so look at where the customers actually are.