To meet the changing tides heading toward the real estate market, Realogy has dropped its name for a new one that arguably telegraphs where the industry is headed for years to come: Anywhere Real Estate Inc.
In a move that is reminiscent of Facebook’s rebranding to Meta, the real estate giant announced its own Thursday morning during its Investor Day. According to the company, the rebrand signals a company-wide commitment to “reimagine the consumer experience at any point in the real estate transaction journey.”
“We are so excited about the opportunity ahead of us that we chose to rename and rebrand the company to reinforce our commitment to delivering this future,” said Realogy president and CEO Ryan Schneider in a statement following the investor event at its New Jersey headquarters.
Schneider and several members of Realogy’s executive team also laid out company plans to leverage its advantaged market position and ability to invest in improving and reducing friction in the transaction process for consumers.
The rebrand comes at a time when consumers are being presented with several options for buying and selling their homes, as iBuyers, Power Buyers and other tech-focused business models emerge with a similar goal of decluttering transactions.
While Schneider admitted to being inspired by the renewed approaches to a long-standing problem for consumers, he also stated that Realogy was better positioned to compete as the company looks to meet consumers where they are on the transaction spectrum.
“With very positive momentum, we will harness the power of our extensive agent network, leading brands, scaled core services, deep technology and data and strong financial flexibility to create a better transaction experience for any consumer, anywhere,” he said.
With a buying and selling process that has arguably lagged amid growing tech and innovation across sectors, Melissa McSherry, Realogy’s COO, indicated that Realogy will prioritize streamlining the real estate transaction for its consumers.
“This focus will guide how we evolve our product strategy for both consumers and agents as the trusted advisors of the transaction,” McSherry said.
According to Realogy, the transition has been in the works for years as the company has focused on a “large scale transformation” since 2018, resulting in increased profitability, strong recruitment and “innovative technology and marketing products.”
In its latest earnings report, Realogy earned $1.6 billion in revenue in Q1 2022, tallying a 6% increase from the same period last year and a company record for first-quarter performance. A significant driver for the quarterly performance was the Realogy Brokerage Group and Realogy Franchise Group.
“I am incredibly proud of our industry-leading talent, franchise owners, and affiliated agents who have contributed to Realogy’s significant transformation progress,” Schneider said. “We are stronger, we are operating with greater speed and agility, and we are consistently delivering impressive results as we move real estate to what’s next.”
Part of the investor event included forward-looking financial goals that Realogy is looking to achieve by 2026, including boosting revenue from $8 billion to $11.5 billion and surpassing a 20% market share.
“We have demonstrated unmatched operational execution to drive above-market growth, increased top and bottom-line performance, and a significantly stronger balance sheet,” said Charlotte Simonelli, Realogy’s CFO.
This is a developing story.
Jordan Grice is RISMedia’s associate online editor. Email him your real estate news to jgrice@rismedia.com.
