RE/MAX looking to 'strengthen our swagger' 

RE/MAX CEO Erik Carlson told investors the company is starting 2025 from "a position of strength" as the industry faces a housing market in transition.

Yes, revenue and agent count have continued to drop. But the company ended 2024 in the black and reached an agreement to settle a pair of commissions lawsuits in Canada "where the RE/MAX brand and network is the industry leader," Carlson said in a Feb. 21 call.

"Our biggest opportunity is still how we're going to stabilize U.S. agent count and continue to generate revenue from those fees," Carlson said. New agents coming into the business are "struggling," he added. "I think that we have a little bit more work still to do on helping brokers onboard agents and make them productive."

Carlson teased announcements coming at the company's flagship R4 event, taking place Feb. 24-27 in Las Vegas. "We're excited to strengthen our swagger next week."

Settling lawsuits in Canada

RE/MAX has reached an agreement to settle a pair of commissions lawsuits in Canada for $5.5 million (USD), said RE/MAX CFO Karri Callahan. The settlement still needs to be finalized but echoes the earlier deal RE/MAX made to settle similar lawsuits in the United States.

"We continue to deny the allegations made in the complaint and in no way acknowledge any wrongdoing," Callahan said. But settling protects RE/MAX Canada "from the risk of potential damages and the uncertainty of litigation."

Callahan also said agent commissions have remained "remarkably consistent" throughout 2024, and that if anything, the trust that consumers have in the brand puts RE/MAX in a stronger position in the post-NAR-settlement environment.

Key numbers

Revenue: $72.5 billion in the fourth quarter, down 5.4% year-over-year. For the full year, revenue was $307.7 billion, down 5.5% compared to 2023.

Cash and cash equivalents: $96.6 million at the end of December, up $14 million from the end of 2023.

Net income/loss: A gain of $7.1 million for 2024, which includes $5.8 million in the fourth quarter. The company had a net loss of $10.9 million in Q4 of 2023.

Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization): $97.7 million, up 1.5% year-over-year.

Agent count: Globally the company had 146,627 agents at the end of December, a gain of 1,792 agents from a year ago. U.S. and Canada combined agent count dropped to 76,457, a 4.8% decrease over 2023. The U.S. market has 3,845 fewer agents than a year ago.

Motto Mortgage franchises: Office count decreased 8.5% to 225 offices.

Notable moves

RE/MAX began 2025 with a leadership shakeup, as Amy Lessinger stepped down as RE/MAX president after less than a year in the role. The next month, RE/MAX Canada President Christopher Alexander announced his departure.

Both of those positions remain unfilled, but Carlson called out other significant hires: Chief Growth Officer Chris Lim and Travis Saxton, executive vice president of strategy.

Meanwhile, the recently launched RE/MAX Media Network, which sells ads on the company's web sites, is "ramping nicely," Carlson said. "We believe it could eventually generate a seven-digit revenue figure annually."

RE/MAX is also looking to leverage remax.com and (soon) remax.ca visitors to identify and nurture high-intent buyers via Lead Concierge, a program that Carlson said saves agents' time and "materially improves the customer experience."