Anywhere reports losses during the slower winter season

Anywhere Real Estate felt the brunt of the challenging housing market again in the first quarter of 2024 as the company reported a loss of $101 million during the three-month period.

It generated $1.1 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2024, which was flat on a year-over-year basis. But transaction volume increased by 2% during the three-month period, marking the first annualized increase in two years. Meanwhile, the number of units sold was down 4% and prices were up 7%.

“The first quarter of 2024 was another tough time in the housing market,” Ryan Schneider, Anywhere president and CEO, told analysts during an earnings call on Thursday. “I am proud of how our affiliated agents, franchisees and employees helped customers navigate ongoing complexities. … This is the seasonally slow part of the year and we are in a very difficult housing market with a record-low level of unit sales.”

The company’s revenue stagnated, but Anywhere managed to improve its capital structure with more than $30 million in cost savings. The company expects to realize cost savings of at least $100 million in 2024.

For Schneider, growing the company’s franchise network is one of Anywhere’s most important strategic priorities. The CEO wants to enhance the value proposition for both new and existing franchisees, he told analysts on Thursday.

“We are bringing them new profit sources such as Upward Title. We are providing them excellent technology, we are reducing their costs through products like the Listings Direct technology, and we are utilizing Anywhere data scale to provide actionable franchisee insight to help them run their businesses better,” Schneider said.

Schneider highlighted the performance of the Sotheby’s International Realty brand, which stood out by posting a higher year-over-year volume in Q1 2024. The national housing market and Anywhere’s overall portfolio each posted lower volumes on an annualized basis. 

Meanwhile, the Corcoran brand dominated the New York City market and was ranked as the No. 1 brand in Manhattan for the fourth consecutive year, according to Schneider. Additionally, the company expanded the Corcoran brand in new markets such as Boston and Portland, Oregon, in the three first months of 2024.

Over the three-month period, transaction sides at the firm’s franchise group, Anywhere Brands, dropped 4% year over year to 144,775. The firm’s owned brokerage group, Anywhere Advisors, recorded a 6% annual decline in transaction sides to 50,513.

Anywhere Brands and Anywhere Advisors each reported a 7% increase in their average home sale price, inching up to $470,119 and $709,506, respectively.

Commission splits in the first quarter were down 3 basis points year over year to 79.9%. 

“Anywhere delivered solid results in the first quarter despite a tough market environment,” Charlotte Simonelli, the company’s executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer, said in a statement.

“We are excited about our financial octane when the housing market strengthens and continue to stay focused on controlling what we can control, maximizing our cost savings, prudently managing cash, and improving our capital structure to position Anywhere for long-term success.”