Above, Anywhere CEO Ryan Schneider
The Clear Cooperation rule mandated by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), where listings must be put on an MLS within 24 hours, remains controversial within the industry. In an exclusive interview with RISMedia Founder and CEO John Featherston back in January, NAR President Nykia Wright claimed the issue would be “settled” soon.
During Anywhere’s recent earnings call for Q4 2024, CEO Ryan Schneider staked out a moderate position on Clear Cooperation during the investor Q&A section. “We’re in the relax, not repeal world,” as he put it.
Schneider framed the ongoing debate as “extreme,” meaning it has been framed in terms of either repealing Clear Cooperation or maintaining it as is.
“The two extremes both have some real issues with them. The current extreme and the mandatory nature is a real problem, we don’t like mandatory things, we’ve been telling people to relax mandatory rules for a number of years. Since people didn’t listen to us on the Participation Rule, we all paid dearly for that. But on the flipside, again, just a total repeal and moving to private listing networks, I don’t think is good for the consumer,” Schneider explained.
In a later question about Anywhere’s contingency plans for a move to a private listing network, Schneider elaborated: “If buyers can’t easily get access to all the inventory, I just think that’s bad for sellers in terms of getting the best price on your house, so I think there’s some fair housing issues on that. And if you’re a seller and you can’t get access to what other homes sold at what prices, that hurts your ability to price your home.”
Schneider maintained, though, that “we are ready—if the world goes to private listings, we will not let our agents be disadvantaged.”
This statement about preparation for success rings true in the company’s larger earnings results, which saw year-to-year improvements.
Anywhere’s Q4 2024 earnings breakdown
In Q4 2024, Anywhere reported generated revenue of $1.4 billion, a slight decline from the reported $1.5 billion in Q3 2024, but a $112 million improvement annually. This meant that the company closed out 2024 with $5.7 billion in revenue, $56 million more than in 2023. Anywhere’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) in Q4 2024 was $52 million, up $24 million year-over-year. 2024 EBITDA was $290 million, an uptick of $35 million.
Anywhere still operated at a net loss in Q4 2024 and the year overall, but reduced those losses; the quarterly net loss of $64 million was $43 million less annually, and the annual loss of $128 million was $31 million less annually. Free cash flow was diminished in 2024 ($50 million) compared to 2023 ($67 million), though the report notes that before litigation payments in Q2 2024, free cash flow had been $70 million.
However, on the earnings call, Schneider made the argument that ongoing litigation and practice changes in the industry have benefitted Anywhere in other ways—by increasing the appeal of its brand and influence to independent brokerages.
Anywhere added 28 new franchisees in Q4 2024 and 67 in 2024 overall. On the investor call, Schneider described most new Anywhere franchisees as existing brokerages that have realized “the power of being part of someone who can both take care of you better in litigation, but also help navigate industry practice changes.”
The company also noted increased volume of closed transactions both in Q4 (up 13% annually) and 2024 overall (up 4%) annually. Agent commission splits were down in the fourth quarter (seven basis points) but up for the entire year of 2024 (14 basis points).
In Q3 2024, Anywhere had implemented several different buyer agreement forms, in compliance with new industry forms, that offered varying degrees of commitment for a consumer to a buyer’s agent. The least commitment was a single touring agreement, while the most commitment was a six-month representation agreement.
“The data through January is, it’s almost all people signing the exclusive six-month agreement,” said Schneider on the earnings calls. “North of 80% of our buyers are signing that agreement, and that just blows me away…frankly, we’re probably going to end up discontinuing some of the other ones that don’t get much usage or much traction because consumers aren’t really interested in them.”
Schneider described these results as “a testament to the value agents provide” and evidence agents are communicating their value proposition well—which he believes is not exclusive to Anywhere agents.
For the full Anywhere Q4 2024 earnings report, click here.
