Anywhere rebounds from losing streak in second quarter

Coldwell, Corcoran, Sotheby’s parent reports $19M profit after $138M loss

Anywhere's Charlotte Simonelli and Ryan Schneider (Getty, Anywhere; Illustration by The Real Deal)

Sheridan Wall

Jul 25, 2023, 1:00 PM

Anywhere Real Estate posted a profit in the second quarter, turning the page after two periods of hefty declines.

The parent company of Corcoran, Coldwell Banker, Century21 and Sotheby’s International Realty posted a net income of $19 million. Though that’s less than the $88 million it reported in the same period last year, it’s a stark improvement from its $138 million loss reported for the first three months of 2023.

The firm reported an operating EBITDA — earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization — in the second quarter of $126 million, a $76 million drop from the same period last year.

Anywhere earned $1.7 billion in revenue last quarter, down from $2.1 billion in the second quarter of 2022 — a 22 percent decline the company attributed to a decrease in transaction volume, continued from the first quarter.

Anywhere is now focused on “accelerating its strategy,” president and CEO Ryan Schneider said. Its priorities include expanding its franchise business, which brought in $284 million in revenue last quarter, down from the $339 million in the same period in 2022.

Last quarter, the company generated $105 million in free cash flow, up from the $70 million reported in the second quarter last year.

The firm cut costs in the second quarter by $50 million, upping its savings for the year-to-date to $100 million. Under its current cost-cutting plan — which has included layoffs earlier this year and the shuttering of its iBuying business — the firm said it is on track to save $200 million in 2023.

Agent commission splits — up 32 basis points annually — exceeded expectations for the quarter, and the company said it expects them to increase about 50 to 75 basis points by the end of the year above 2022.

The company said in the previous quarter’s earnings its involvement as a defendant in a landmark brokerage lawsuit had “meaningfully impacted” its operating EBITDA.

The suit alleges some of the National Association of Realtors’ rules violate antitrust laws by inflating seller costs. In May, a federal judge denied the defendants’ request to overturn the class certification. The case is now likely to head to trial, though no date has been set.

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