Anywhere revenue took a hit in Q4, dipped 18% in 2023
Net losses for the year improved, however. CEO Ryan Schneider pointed to debt reduction and settlements as wins, and spoke favorably about buyer agreements.
Residential brokerage giant Anywhere Real Estate saw its revenue slip in the fourth quarter, falling $334 million from Q3 to end the quarter at $1.25 billion. Compared to the same period a year ago, revenue was off just $73 million (6%).
The full-year revenue picture was less rosy: Anywhere closed out the year with $5.63 billion in revenue, which was down $1.27 billion — or roughly 18% — from the company's $6.9 billion revenue reported for 2022. Net losses for the year improved compared to 2022, but after reporting positive income in Q3, the company was back in the red in the fourth quarter with a net loss of $107 million.
What Anywhere had to say
During the earnings call, CEO Ryan Schneider highlighted Anywhere's debt reduction efforts and the company's pending approval for its settlement in the commissions cases as key wins in 2023 and added that "2024 is about Anywhere Real Estate executing on what we can control."
Schnieder previously told Real Estate News that the settlement would allow Anywhere to move forward without the distraction of litigation. "We feel good about where we are, and again, because we've got our settlement done and we've gotten preliminary approval, I get to focus my time and my energy and my dollars on the market and agents and growth," he said.
With housing inventory still tight, Anywhere CFO Charlotte Simonelli acknowledged that low volume is likely to drive the company's EBITDA lower in the first quarter of 2024. "Even a 10% improvement in the housing market is still a low housing market," she said during the Q&A session.
But she also noted that Anywhere reduced debt by over $300 million in 2023, "which represents over $900 million in debt reduction since 2019."
While the company was the first major brokerage to settle in the class action commissions lawsuits, Schneider said he didn't think the impact of the cases has "really got into the water in a way that has led to anything meaningful changing yet." However, he did note that Anywhere will continue to promote buyer agreements, saying that the company would expand their use "dramatically."
Key numbers
Revenue: $1.25 billion in Q4 2023, down $73 million from the same period a year prior and down $334 million from the previous quarter. Anywhere reported total revenues of $5.63 billion for 2023, down 18% from $6.9 billion in 2022.
Cash and cash equivalents: $106 million in Q4, which is a bump from $95 million reported last quarter but less than half of the $214 million the company reported having at the end of 2022.
Net income/loss: A net loss of $107 million for the quarter and $97 million for the year — an improvement over the company's full-year loss of $287 million in 2022. The quarterly loss, however, was a big shift from Q3, when the company reported net income of $129 million.
Operating EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization): $19 million for Q4 and $200 million for the full-year. Anywhere reported an operating EBITDA of $449 million at the end of 2022.
Transactions: 165,815 closed homesale sides for Anywhere Brands (Franchise Group) and 57,546 closed homesale sides for Anywhere Advisors (Owned Brokerage Group) in the fourth quarter.
For the full year, the company reported 720,853 closed homesale sides for Anywhere Brands and 258,643 closed homesale sides for Anywhere Advisors.
Agent count: Approximately 188,300 independent sales agents in the U.S. and 134,200 in 118 other countries and territories, according to the earnings report.