Be wary of industry players ‘attempting to sow chaos’
In a livestream presentation, Anywhere’s Sue Yannaccone warned of misinformation around Clear Cooperation and encouraged agents to share their views.
Key points:
- Yannaccone, Anywhere Brands president and CEO, said some in the industry are creating “noise” and “chaos” in the wake of “the changes that we're all experiencing.”
- Those players, she cautioned, may be trying to influence policy through trade press and social media posts.
- Company leaders also said the brokerage is stepping up advocacy efforts and noted that “inventory and accessibility” are top concerns among voters.
During a livestream this week focused on agent advocacy, Sue Yannaccone, president and CEO of Anywhere Brands, said the brokerage giant hasn't been the "loudest in the room" — but warned of other, louder players, who might have nefarious motives.
Some industry forces trying to shape policy in 'misleading' ways
Recent changes to real estate practices have fueled a debate over NAR's Clear Cooperation Policy, and Anywhere jumped into the fray last month, asking the association to make some significant changes to the policy.
Leaders from other big brokerages, portals and vendors have also joined the discussion in recent weeks, with some expressing strong opinions about the future of the controversial policy. Yannaccone, however, advised real estate professionals to be wary of the "noise" and provocations.
"We recognize that there is still a lot of uncertainty across the industry, and that you may be hearing a lot from players that have an interest in driving much of that noise, or who may believe that industry policy can be shaped through creating misleading headlines or provocative social media posts," she said.
"Unfortunately, many of these same forces have been attempting to sow chaos around the changes that we're all experiencing for well over a year, and we've managed to overcome that."
Signaling a call to action
While Anywhere is pushing for alterations to the Clear Cooperation Policy, the company's leadership has not called for its repeal — in contrast to some brokerage leaders, including Robert Reffkin of Compass and Mauricio Umansky of The Agency, who have warned of litigation and made bold statements about collusion and anticompetitiveness.
Yannaccone encouraged Anywhere's 188,000 U.S.-based agents to get informed about policy issues — and get involved in the debate.
"There are many ongoing conversations about changes to longstanding industry policy, all of which are impactful and important to the way homes are marketed, bought and sold," she said.
"Guys, all of these debates are critical. They're critical to the future of not just Anywhere, but all of us in the real estate industry and the consumers that we serve every day. So it's vital that we all play an active role in sharing our views."
Anywhere bolstering its own lobbying efforts
Beyond weighing in on policy debates, the company also highlighted its lobbying efforts and shared what voters are most concerned about — and explained why Anywhere has moved into the advocacy business.
"Up until this point, we have really depended on NAR to be our eyes and ears and voice among our elected officials, especially here in Washington, DC," explained Becky Tallent, VP and head of government affairs for Anywhere.
"We just decided that it was time that we had a dedicated person who didn't have to deal with the complicated issues of potentially divergent interests within memberships, and could just focus on what is important to our agents and our affiliates."
And the top concern among voters when it comes to real estate?
"Inventory and accessibility," she said. "Every time I meet with an elected official, I am told that that is the number-one issue that their voters bring up to them."