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nywhere Real Estate CEO Ryan Schneider described the US housing market as "weird" due to regional disparities. While some areas are correcting or seeing price drops, Schneider believes that overall, "the talk of prices falling is a little overstated." He highlighted gains in luxury sales and near-record agent retention rates.
Despite turbulent market conditions, Anywhere's second-quarter earnings report showed a largely positive outlook for the remainder of the year. Revenue increased 1% to $1.7 billion, with net profits of $27 million - down slightly from last year but a significant improvement from the previous quarter's loss of $78 million.
Luxury sales performed well, with Corcoran and Sotheby's International Realty experiencing double-digit growth in open volume. The luxury segment added 13 US franchisees and three international markets during Q2, expanding Anywhere's presence in key growth areas like California and North Carolina.
Schneider emphasized the importance of private listings, stating that around 6% of Anywhere's listings are sold privately. However, he reiterated his belief that most people should have a broad distribution of listings, and the company is prepared to turn on private listings if market conditions change.
Anywhere also reported near-record agent retention rates, particularly with luxury brands. The brokerage recruited 625 productive agents in Q2 and had nearly 95% retention among top half of productive agents at Anywhere Advisors.
Key numbers from the report include:
* Revenue: $1.7 billion (up 1% year-over-year)
* Cash and cash equivalents: $266 million (up from $110 million in Q1)
* Net income/loss: $27 million (down 10% year-over-year, but a significant improvement over Q1's loss of $78 million)
* Operating EBITDA: $133 million (down from $143 million last year)
* Transactions: 186,970 home sale sides for Anywhere Brands (down 4% year-over-year)
* Agent commissions: Average broker commission rate of 2.41% for Anywhere Brands and 2.38% for Anywhere Advisors
