Quarterly Financial Information - Schedule of Quarterly Financial Information (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Sep. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2016	Mar. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Quarterly Financial Information (unaudited)
Total revenue	$ 44,422	$ 45,559	$ 43,404	$ 42,917	$ 43,274	$ 45,110	$ 44,277	$ 44,207	$ 176,302	$ 176,868	$ 170,984
Total operating expenses	29,935	24,203	22,703	27,060	26,410	24,498	22,921	28,884	103,901	102,713	107,149
Operating income	14,487	21,356	20,701	15,857	16,864	20,612	21,356	15,323	72,401	74,155	63,835
Total other expenses, net	(2,876)	(2,204)	(2,036)	(2,202)	(2,747)	(2,142)	(1,841)	(4,045)	(9,318)	(10,775)	(9,908)
Income before provision for income taxes	11,611	19,152	18,665	13,655	14,117	18,470	19,515	11,278	63,083	63,380	53,927
Provision for income taxes	(3,097)	(4,632)	(4,285)	(3,259)	(3,148)	(3,277)	(3,457)	(2,148)	(15,273)	(12,030)	(9,948)
Net income	8,514	14,520	14,380	10,396	10,969	15,193	16,058	9,130	47,810	51,350	43,979
Less: net income attributable to non-controlling interest	4,589	7,609	7,419	5,456	6,923	10,396	11,088	6,379	25,073	34,695	30,543
Net income attributable to RE/MAX Holdings, Inc.	$ 3,925	$ 6,911	$ 6,961	$ 4,940	$ 4,046	$ 4,797	$ 4,970	$ 2,751	$ 22,737	$ 16,655	$ 13,436
Net income attributable to RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. per share of Class A common stock
Basic	$ 0.22	$ 0.39	$ 0.39	$ 0.28	$ 0.28	$ 0.39	$ 0.41	$ 0.23	$ 1.29	$ 1.31	$ 1.16
Diluted	$ 0.22	$ 0.39	$ 0.39	$ 0.28	$ 0.28	$ 0.39	$ 0.40	$ 0.22	$ 1.29	$ 1.30	$ 1.10
Weighted average shares of Class A common stock outstanding
Basic	17,647,930	17,645,696	17,636,590	17,584,351	14,283,839	12,333,690	12,225,678	11,817,605	17,628,741	12,671,051	11,611,164
Diluted	17,706,070	17,691,641	17,668,995	17,638,667	14,351,911	12,420,748	12,399,527	12,293,505	17,677,768	12,829,214	12,241,977