Anywhere Real Estate posts Q3 profit

Anywhere, the nation's top real estate franchisor, posted a nine-figure profit in the third quarter despite home sale volume it said was down 13% from the same time last year.

The parent of brands including Century 21 and Coldwell Banker also cut almost $300 million from its over $2.5 billion in debt this summer, according to earnings reported Tuesday. Executives in an earnings call touted the quarterly performance but also fielded numerous questions about Anywhere's involvement in a high-profile industry lawsuit.

The company in September agreed to an $83.5 million settlement to avoid a lengthy trial in the Sitzer/Burnett class action case against some of the nation's largest real estate firms. The trial is still ongoing, although Anywhere and competitor RE/MAX, which also settled, are not participating in today's proceedings. In its settlement, Anywhere agreed to rule changes including eliminating minimum client commission requirements. 

"While the settlement still needs court approvals, this enables us to move past the distraction, uncertainty and expense that comes with complex and protracted litigation," said Ryan Schneider, president and CEO of Anywhere, in Tuesday morning's call. 

Anywhere enjoyed a second consecutive profitable quarter, recording $129 million of net income between July and September. It posted a $19 million profit in the second quarter, and a $138 million loss to end March. At the same time last year, Anywhere was profitable with $55 million in net income. 

The industry giant counted $1.6 billion in revenue in the third quarter, down 12% year-over-year because of the aforementioned double-digit decline in home sale transaction volume. Across the company, the commission split rate with agents in the third quarter was 80.2%, up 55 basis points annually. 

"There continue to be parts of our business, especially in luxury, where our splits are actually lower year-over-year," said Schneider. "We continue to like the moderation we see in split, which is driven by lower volumes, more stable agent mix, better recruiting

economics and other proactive actions we have taken."

The splits don't refer to the buy-side versus sell-side broker commissions in question in the Sitzer/Burnett trial. Average broker commission rates in the third quarter for both Anywhere franchises and the firm's owned brokerage group were relatively flat year-over-year, at 2.45% and 2.41%, respectively. 

Anywhere shed $281 million off its company debt in the third quarter through bond exchanges, open market debt repurchases and repaying a portion of a revolving line of credit balance. Despite its $2.58 billion in debt, only $200 million is set to mature before 2026, according to an earnings presentation. 

Transaction volumes for 2023 are expected to fall between 15% and 20%, probably in the lower range because of recent mortgage rates approaching 8%, executives said. Schneider said he isn't expecting many prospective buyers to budge until mortgage rates drop to around 5.5% to 6%, citing homebuilders with more transaction volumes after buying down rates to that range.

Company leaders also downplayed any ill effects stemming from the SItzer/Burnett trial and Anywhere's recent settlement. Buyers and sellers aren't asking more about commissions, and negotiations in transactions haven't seemed to change, Schnieder said in response to an investor question.

"I think the class action stuff is more mainstream in the real estate press than the general press," he said. "But we like the value both the seller and buyer agents provide, and we think that we're lucky to have settled the litigation."