Harcourts franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a Harcourts franchise takes $151,000 – $360,000 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $25,000. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 6% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 1%. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
Harcourts franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $25,000 | $25,000 | $25,000 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $151,000 | $360,000 | $151,000 to $360,000 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $151,000 | $360,000 | $151,000 to $360,000 | |
- 1 "Not disclosed" means Harcourts's filings do not state this figure. We publish the gap instead of estimating it.
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 6% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Up to 1% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 5 years |
See the full Harcourts cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How Harcourts's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where Harcourts's disclosed cost sits against the Professional Services category:
- Minimum startup cost of $151,000 — about 1.8× the Professional Services median of $84,700.
- Initial franchise fee of $25,000 — about 37% below the Professional Services median of $39,700.
Category medians are computed from the Professional Services brands in our data that disclosed each figure — a benchmark for scale, not a quality judgment. See all Professional Services franchises
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How Harcourts's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2012–2020: began the window at 17 units; 30 units opened, 39 closed, ending at 19 units. (partial records: 2018 is not in the source data — totals span the reported years only.)
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for Harcourts or anyone else. The only primary source is Item 19 of the brand's own franchise disclosure document (FDD), and no law requires a franchisor to publish one, so the "average owner income" numbers circulating elsewhere are usually unsourced or survivorship-biased. Ask Harcourts for its current FDD and read Item 19 yourself — and if there is no Item 19, that silence is information too.
What this data can't tell you
Everything on this page comes from disclosure filings — fees, ranges, and unit counts. Four questions that matter just as much are not in any filing we can source, so we say so instead of guessing:
- The hours and the labor
- No dataset field says whether Harcourts is a manage-from-a-laptop business or a 60-hour week in disguise. Item 15 of the FDD states whether you're obligated to run the business personally, and Item 11 lists what the franchisor actually does for you — then ask current owners what their week looks like (validation calls), not the sales team.
- How hands-on the ownership really is
- "Semi-absentee" is a pitch, not a filing field. Treat any hands-off claim as unverified until it's consistent with Item 15 and with what multiple current franchisees tell you — what absentee ownership actually means.
- Your territory — whether it's protected, and whether it's open
- Two territory questions sit outside our data. Whether Harcourts grants a protected or exclusive area is set in Item 12 of the FDD and varies brand to brand — some grant none, and the carve-outs (online sales, national accounts) matter as much as the map. And filing data can't say what's open in your market this month; only Harcourts can confirm current availability. Ask both before you inquire, and get the answer in writing.
- What owners earn
- Covered honestly above: our dataset has no earnings fields, the only primary source is the brand's own Item 19, and here is how to read that evidence.
About the Harcourts franchise
Harcourts is a professional services franchisor with 19 units at the end of 2020 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2012 and 2020, it began the window at 17 units; its filings record 30 unit openings and 39 closures, ending at 19 units (partial records: 2018 is not in the source data — totals span the reported years only). Its parent company is Harcourts Pacific LLC.
No franchise-related lawsuits reported in the disclosure data we hold (FDD Item 3, as of 2026-05) — an absence in our sources, not a guarantee; confirm against the brand's current FDD.
From the franchisor's materials
Harcourts real estate brokerages are fullyintegrated real estate offices, focusing Upon technology, traihihg, marketing, and communication. The unique aspects of Harcourts real estate brokerage offices include the nonexclusive Use of a wofidwide brand, proprietary marketing and promotional materials, a training, program offered through Harcourts Academy (training center), and a global referral'system., The real estate brokerage business is a competitive business. There are many factors that go into the success of any business, which include but are not lifnited to, the market and your management abilities. Currently, due to market conditions, there may be large amounts of unsold home inventory, fierce competition for real estate agents by other brokerages, and decreasing pressure On home prices. YoU should besaware of thecyclic nature of the real estate industry, Harcourts cannot,guaranty you, success, but offers you a wide variety of marketing and promotional materials, as well as training and technology to assist in positioning you to Operate your real estate; brokerage office as effectively as possible. While Harcourts has been selling franchises since 2010 in California, Hawaii and Nevada, Its affiliates have done so since April of 1989
Harcourts franchise: quick answers
- How much does a Harcourts franchise cost?
- $151,000 – $360,000 all-in to open, per Harcourts's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many Harcourts units are there?
- 19 units at the end of 2020 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).
- How have Harcourts's units held up?
- 60% of units at risk between 2017 and 2020 did not close, per our metric recomputed from FDD Item 20-style unit history (methodology published on our verification page).