Anywhere rode luxury to close out 2024's 'challenged' market

Yahoo

13-02-2025

After a sluggish third quarter, Anywhere waded through a 'pretty tough housing market' to deliver some growth and an optimistic outlook for 2025.
The real estate services company posted a net loss of $64 million, or a $43 million improvement from the same quarter in 2023. But it's full-year performance worsened to a net loss of $128 million, compared with $97 million for 2023.
Its operating EBITDA — earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization — of $52 million was up $24 million year-over-year.
The parent company of Corcoran, Coldwell Banker, Century 21 and Sotheby's International Realty reported $1.4 billion in revenue, a 9 percent annual increase.
Gross transaction volume was up 13 percent year-over-year, with units closed in the fourth quarter up 3 percent and prices up 9 percent.
Anywhere was buoyed by growth in its luxury sector. The high-end segments posted gross volume that was up 20 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, driven by 12 percent unit growth year-over-year.
On the earnings call, CEO Ryan Schneider reiterated his stance for relaxing — but not repealing — the National Association of Realtors' Clear Cooperation Policy. The chief executive appeared to take a veiled shot at fellow residential giant Compass, which has been on the vanguard of pushing for a repeal.
'Those advocating for full repeal are primarily advancing their own interests,' Schneider said. 'There's clearly an opportunity for players with listing scale to create private, off-market listing networks that only select agents can access, which clearly could enhance near-term economics.'
A shift to off-market listings hurts sellers' ability to get the best price, Schneider said, and complicates pricing by decreasing publicly available comparables. But he noted that Anywhere, which he said has the most listings in the industry across its brands, is prepared to 'capitalize' in the event of a CCP repeal.
He also called out industry consolidation — another point of emphasis for Compass — and said that while he would be 'excited to augment our growth through M&A opportunities,' the company will only be looking for 'deals that enhance the bottom line, not just the top line.'
'We've seen some deals in the market that we wouldn't do,' he said, noting that Anywhere would likely be a cash — as opposed to equity — buyer if it does find an acquisition opportunity.
Cost cuts to continue
Anywhere's commission splits again stayed steady, down 7 basis points year-over-year to 80.3 percent.
Average commission rates again fell slightly, to 2.39 percent from 2.41 percent for its franchise groups and to 2.35 from 2.36 for its owned brokerage groups.
Over 80 percent of buyers have opted to sign six-month exclusive buyer agreements, which were one of five agreements Anywhere rolled out in the wake of NAR practice changes going into effect last summer.
Anywhere's yearslong cost-cutting mission resulted in a realized cost savings of $125 million for 2024. CFO Charlotte Simonelli said that 40 percent of those savings were offset by growth-related costs and inflation.
Anywhere's free cash flow for the year was $70 million — roughly even with 2023 — after excluding a $20 million litigation settlement payment, and the company expects a similar performance in 2025.
The firm has also targeted another $100 million of cost reductions for 2025, and it continues to tout its use of artificial intelligence tools to improve efficiency. Schneider said the firm has used generative AI to halve the team needed to process over 50,000 transaction-related documents per day.
Anywhere expects to bolster its performance in 2025, forecasting $350 million of operating EBITDA for the year, an increase of $60 million from 2024.
But Simonelli said the housing market will be 'the single biggest swing factor' for its projections, noting that there are currently 'some pretty wide ranges in industry forecasts.'
This January has shown early signs of growth, with the closed gross volume up 12 percent year-over-year and the open volume — open contracts and future closings — up 4 percent year-over-year.
'The housing market remains challenged, especially with a lack of supply and real pressure on the number of unit transactions,' Schneider said.
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This article originally appeared on The Real Deal. Click here to read the full story.