RISMEDIA, April 30, 2010—Realogy Corporation, a global leader in real estate and relocation services, reported results for the first quarter of the year ending March 31, 2010. Realogy’s revenue for the first quarter of $819 million increased 18% compared to 2009. In the latest quarter, Realogy recorded a net loss attributable to the Company of $197 million. EBITDA for the period was $11 million, an improvement of $73 million year-over-year due to revenue gains, cost reductions and productivity gains.
In the first quarter, Realogy’s core business drivers showed improvement. The number of home sale transactions increased 8% year-over-year at the Realogy Franchise Group (RFG) and 11% at NRT, the company-owned brokerage unit. The growth is principally attributable to the move-up and higher priced markets and a comparatively weak first quarter of 2009. Average home sale price increased in the first quarter by 3% at RFG and 17% at NRT year-over-year. In addition, at Cartus, we saw a 20% increase in relocation initiations aided by the addition of business from Primacy Relocation, which we acquired in January, and a 6% increase in purchase closing units at Title Resource Group.
“We saw gains in the average home sale price across our franchise and company-owned offices, and it is increasingly apparent that prices are stabilizing in many markets,” said Realogy president and CEO Richard A. Smith. “The shift in the mix of business we started to see late last year continued into the first quarter of 2010, signaling a much healthier outlook for housing.”
The changing composition of home sale price points particularly impacted NRT where average home price was approximately $418,000 in the first quarter of 2010 compared to $356,000 for the same period in 2009. In the first quarter of 2010, home sales at price points over $750,000 represented 43% of NRT’s sales volume versus 35% during the first quarter of 2009. In addition, REO transactions at NRT dropped from 19% in the first quarter of 2009 to 11% of transaction sides in the first quarter of 2010. “We believe that NRT’s average home sale price will continue to outperform the industry due to our geographic concentration and focus on high-end markets,” said Smith.
“While the home buyer tax credit appears to have had less of an impact on home sales in the first quarter 2010 compared to the fourth quarter of 2009, we have seen increased momentum in terms of home sale contracts opened during the months of March and April, and expect to see the results of that stimulus in the second quarter,” added Smith. “The third and fourth quarters for housing remain somewhat uncertain as they will be driven by traditional macro factors such as job growth, consumer confidence, and from a micro-economic perspective, the dynamics of local markets.”
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