Memphis-Area Real Estate Offices Get New Supersize Space

Shopping lists that customers take to Memphis-area Walmart Supercenters this year could include homes and office space. First National Realty plans to put real estate offices in local Walmarts, the first by the end of March.

The decision was made largely because of the foot traffic that the chain retailer gets. Providing a mix of real estate services and retail shopping is part of Walmart’s strategy to take the shopping experience to a new level where shoppers can get everything they need in one place.

First National is partnering with WW Franchise, a Phoenix-based firm that has a business relationship with Walmart and has put real estate agencies in dozens of supercenters out West. The plan is to put agents in each branch office as well as a mortgage lender. WW Franchise will receive upfront and royalty fees as part of the deal.

This isn’t First National’s first time bucking tradition. It’s a largely virtual firm with agents who work through the agency's computer software instead of from real estate offices. In 2010, it argued with the Memphis Area Association of Realtors over whether the firm qualified to use the association’s multiple listing service.

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