Anywhere Real Estate Inc. (Anywhere) provides integrated residential real estate services in the U.S. Anywhere includes franchise, brokerage, relocation, and title and settlement businesses, as well as mortgage and title insurance underwriter joint ventures, supporting approximately 1 million closed homesale sides (either the buy or sell side of a homesale transaction) in 2024. The diverse Anywhere brand portfolio includes some of the most recognized names in real estate: Better Homes and Garden...
Anywhere Real Estate Inc. (Anywhere) provides integrated residential real estate services in the U.S. Anywhere includes franchise, brokerage, relocation, and title and settlement businesses, as well as mortgage and title insurance underwriter joint ventures, supporting approximately 1 million closed homesale sides (either the buy or sell side of a homesale transaction) in 2024. The diverse Anywhere brand portfolio includes some of the most recognized names in real estate: Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, CENTURY 21, Coldwell Banker, Coldwell Banker Commercial, Corcoran, ERA, and Sotheby’s International Realty.
Using innovative technology, data and marketing products, high-quality lead generation programs, and best-in-class learning and support services, Anywhere fuels the productivity of its approximately 179,200 independent sales agents in the U.S. and approximately 132,700 independent sales agents in 118 other countries and territories, helping them build stronger businesses and best serve today’s consumers.
Segments
The company reports its operations in three segments: Anywhere Brands (Franchise Group); Anywhere Advisors (Owned Brokerage Group); and Anywhere Integrated Services (Title Group).
Anywhere Brands (Franchise Group) franchises a portfolio of well-known, industry-leading franchise brokerage brands, including Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Coldwell Banker Commercial, Corcoran, ERA and Sotheby's International Realty. This segment also includes the company’s global relocation services operation through Cartus Relocation Services (Cartus) and lead generation activities through Anywhere Leads Inc. (Leads Group).
Anywhere Advisors (Owned Brokerage Group)—operates a full-service real estate brokerage business under the Coldwell Banker, Corcoran and Sotheby's International Realty brand names in many of the largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. This segment also includes the company’s share of equity earnings or losses from its minority-owned real estate auction joint venture.
Anywhere Integrated Services (Title Group)—provides full-service title, escrow and settlement services to consumers, real estate companies, corporations and financial institutions primarily in support of residential real estate transactions. This segment also includes the company’s share of equity earnings or losses from Guaranteed Rate Affinity, the company’s minority-owned mortgage origination joint venture, and from its minority-owned title insurance underwriter joint venture.
Participation in Multiple Aspects of Residential Real Estate
The company participates in services associated with many aspects of the residential real estate market. The company's complementary businesses and minority-held joint ventures, including its mortgage origination and title insurance underwriter joint ventures, work together, allowing it to generate revenue at various points in a residential real estate transaction, including the purchase or sale of homes, corporate relocation, lead generation services, settlement and title services, and franchising of its brands. The businesses each benefit from the company's deep understanding of the industry, strong relationships with real estate brokers, sales agents, and other real estate professionals, as well as expertise across the transactional process. Unlike other industry participants who offer only one or two services, the company can offer homeowners, its franchisees, and its corporate and real estate benefit program clients ready access to numerous associated services that facilitate and simplify the home purchase and sale process. These services provide further revenue opportunities for the company's owned businesses and those of its franchisees. All of the company's businesses and its minority-owned joint ventures can derive revenue from the same real estate transaction.
Brands
The company's brands are among the most well-known and established real estate brokerage brands in the real estate industry. Together with its strategic joint ventures, the company's brands allow it to leverage its strengths while participating in multiple markets within the real estate industry. Specifically, while all of the company's brands compete to varying extents in the high-end markets, its Sotheby’s International Realty and Corcoran brands are particularly well-positioned to benefit from growth in high-end markets. Likewise, while all of the company's brands utilize offerings through Title Group, its company-owned Coldwell Banker brand shares synergies with its title business, as well as its mortgage origination and title insurance underwriter joint ventures, that allow it to progress towards its goal of integrating and streamlining the residential real estate transaction. In addition, the company's global franchise brands, including Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, CENTURY 21, and ERA, as well as franchised Sotheby’s International Realty, Corcoran, and Coldwell Banker brokerages, provide it with attractive scale and afford it the ability to offer versatility of choice to franchisees and consumers.
Anywhere Brands—Franchise Group
Overview—Franchise Business
Franchise Group consists of the company's franchise business, as well as its lead generation and relocation services operations.
As of December 31, 2024, the company's real estate franchise systems and proprietary brands had approximately 311,900 independent sales agents worldwide, including approximately 179,200 independent sales agents operating in the U.S. (which included approximately 52,900 company-owned brokerage independent sales agents). As of December 31, 2024, the company's real estate franchise systems and proprietary brands had approximately 17,800 offices worldwide in 119 countries and territories in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Australia, including approximately 5,300 brokerage offices in the U.S. (which included approximately 580 company-owned brokerage offices).
As of December 31, 2024, on a year-over-year basis, independent sales agents affiliated with the company's owned brokerages experienced a 7% decline (based on the company's internal data), and independent sales agents affiliated with its U.S. franchisees experienced a 4% decline (based on information provided by its affiliated franchisees).
The average tenure among the company's U.S. franchisees is approximately 23 years as of December 31, 2024. The company's franchisees pay it fees for the right to operate under one of its trademarks and to enjoy the benefits of the systems and business-enhancing tools provided by its real estate franchise operations. In addition to highly competitive brands that provide unique offerings to its franchisees, the company supports its franchisees with servicing programs, technology, learning and development, as well as dedicated national marketing programs to facilitate its franchisees in developing their business.
Operations—Franchising
The company derives substantially all of its real estate franchising revenues from royalties and marketing fees received under long-term franchise agreements with its domestic franchisees and Owned Brokerage Group for the right to operate under one of its trademarks and to utilize the benefits of the franchise systems.
In addition to domestic royalty revenue, Franchise Group earns revenue from marketing fees, the strategic alliance program, international affiliates, and upfront international fees.
During 2024, none of the company's franchisees (other than Owned Brokerage Group) generated more than 3% of the total revenue of its real estate franchise business.
The company's franchisees (other than its company-owned brokerages at Owned Brokerage Group) are independent business operators, and it does not exercise control over their day-to-day operations, including with respect to their pricing, hiring, or affiliation practices.
Domestic Franchisees: Certain of the company's brands utilize a volume-based incentive model with a royalty fee rate that is initially equal to 6% of the franchisee's gross commission income but is subject to reduction based upon volume incentives. Under this model, the franchisee is eligible to receive a refund of a portion of the royalties paid upon the satisfaction of certain conditions. The volume incentive is calculated for each eligible franchisee as a progressive percentage of each franchisee's annual gross revenue (paid timely) for each calendar year. The volume incentive varies for each franchise system. The company provides a detailed table to each eligible franchisee that describes the gross revenue thresholds required to achieve a volume incentive and the corresponding incentive amounts. The company reserves the right to increase or decrease the percentage and/or dollar amounts in the table on an annual basis, subject to certain limitations.
Certain franchisees (including some of the company's largest franchisees) have a flat percentage royalty fee. Under this model, franchisees pay a fixed percentage (generally less than 6%) of their commission income to the company, and the percentage does not change during the year or over the term of their franchise agreement. Franchisees on this model are generally not eligible for volume incentives.
The company's Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate franchise business utilizes a capped fee model, which has applied to any new franchisee since 2019, as well as preexisting franchisees who elect to switch from their royalty fee structure to the capped fee model. Under this model, franchisees pay a royalty fee (generally equal to 5% of their commission income) capped at a set amount per independent sales agent per year, subject to the company's right to annually modify or increase the independent sales agent cap. Franchisees on this model are generally not eligible for volume incentives.
The company's Corcoran franchise business utilizes a tiered royalty fee model under which franchisees pay it a percentage of their gross commission income as a royalty fee. The royalty fee percentage is generally set at an initial rate of 6% and decreases in steps during each calendar year to a minimum of 4% as the franchisee’s gross commission income reaches certain levels. Similarly, the company's Coldwell Banker residential franchise business began offering a tiered royalty fee model in 2021, under which the royalty fee percentage is generally set at an initial rate of 5.5% and decreases in steps during the calendar year to a minimum of 3% as the franchisee’s gross commission income reaches certain levels. Under this tiered royalty fee model, the company reserves the right to annually modify or increase the gross commission income levels, subject to certain limitations. Franchisees on the tiered royalty fee model are generally not eligible for volume incentives.
Under certain circumstances, the company extends conversion notes or other note-backed funding which it provides to eligible franchisees for the purpose of providing an incentive to join the brand, to renew their franchise agreements, or to facilitate their growth opportunities. Growth opportunities include the expansion of franchisees' existing businesses by opening additional offices, through the consolidation of operations of other franchisees, as well as through the acquisition of independent sales agents and offices operated by independent brokerages.
Each of the company's franchise systems requires franchisees and company-owned brokerages to make monthly contributions to marketing funds maintained by each brand in accordance with the applicable franchise agreement. These contributions are used primarily for the development, implementation, production, placement, and payment of national and regional advertising, marketing, promotions, public relations, broker and agent marketing tools and products, and/or other marketing-related activities, such as lead generation, all to promote and further the recognition of each brand and its independent franchisees and their affiliated independent sales agents.
In addition to offices owned and operated by its third-party franchisees, as of December 31, 2024, the company, through Owned Brokerage Group, owned and operated approximately 580 offices under the Coldwell Banker, Sotheby's International Realty, and Corcoran brand names.
International Third-Party Franchisees: In the U.S., the company employs a direct franchising model whereby it contracts with and provides services directly to independent owner-operators. It also utilizes a direct franchising model outside of the U.S. for Sotheby's International Realty and Corcoran and, in some cases, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate. For all other brands, the company generally employs a master franchise model outside of the U.S., whereby it contracts with a qualified third party to build a franchise network in the country or region in which franchising rights have been granted. Under both the direct and master franchise models outside of the U.S., the company typically enters into long-term franchise agreements (often 25 years in duration) and receives an initial area development fee and ongoing royalties. Under the master franchise model, the ongoing royalties the company receives are generally a percentage of the royalties received by the master franchisor from its franchisees with which it contracts. Under the direct franchise model, a royalty fee is paid to the company on transactions conducted by its franchisees in the applicable country or region.
Intellectual Property
The company owns the trademarks Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Coldwell Banker Commercial, Corcoran, ERA, and related trademarks and logos, and such trademarks and logos are material to the businesses that are part of its real estate franchise segment. The company's franchisees and subsidiaries actively use these trademarks, and all of the material trademarks are registered (or have applications pending) with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, as well as with corresponding trademark offices in major countries worldwide where these businesses have significant franchised operations.
The company has an exclusive license to own, operate, and franchise the Sotheby's International Realty brand to qualified residential real estate brokerage offices and individuals operating in eligible markets pursuant to a license agreement with SPTC Delaware LLC, a subsidiary of Sotheby's. The company pays a licensing fee to Sotheby's for the use of the Sotheby's International Realty name equal to 9.5% of the net royalties earned by Franchise Group attributable to franchisees affiliated with the Sotheby's International Realty brand, including its company-owned offices.
In 2007, the company entered into a long-term license agreement to own, operate, and franchise the Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate brand from Meredith Operations Corporation, successor in interest to Meredith Corporation. The license agreement between the company and Meredith Operations Corporation is for a 50-year term, with a renewal option for another 50 years at the company's option. The company pays a licensing fee to Meredith Operations Corporation for the use of the Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate brand name equal to 9.0% of the net royalties earned by Franchise Group attributable to franchisees affiliated with the Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate brand, subject to a minimum annual licensing fee.
Operations—Other
Cartus Relocation Services. Cartus, a provider of global relocation services, offers a broad range of world-class employee relocation services designed to manage all aspects of an employee's move to facilitate a smooth transition in what otherwise may be a complex and difficult process for employee and employer. The wide range of services the company offers allows its clients to outsource their entire relocation programs. The company also arranges household goods moving services and provides support for all aspects of moving a transferee's household goods.
The company primarily offers corporate clients employee relocation services, including 38% of the Fortune 50 companies in 2024. As of December 31, 2024, the top 25 relocation clients had an average tenure of approximately 25 years with the company. Substantially all of the company's contracts with its relocation clients are terminable at any time at the option of the client and are non-exclusive. The company earns a commission from real estate brokers and household goods moving companies that provide services to the transferee. Cartus continues to provide value through the generation of leads to real estate agent and brokerage participants in the networks maintained by Leads Group, which drives downstream revenue for the company's businesses.
Lead Generation: Through Leads Group, a part of Franchise Group, the company seeks to provide leads to independent sales agents through real estate benefit programs that provide home-buying and selling assistance to customers of lenders, organizations, such as credit unions, and interest groups that have established members who are buying or selling a home, as well as to consumers and corporations who have expressed interest in a certain brand, product, or service, such as relocation services, including those offered by the company. The company's real estate benefit program revenues are highly concentrated, with one client-directed real estate benefit program contributing a substantial majority of the high-quality leads generated through its lead generation programs, and its client-directed programs are non-exclusive and terminable at any time at the option of the client. The company also maintains its own-driven real estate benefit programs, and additional leads may be generated via other strategic initiatives, including through consumer-focused products and services it may develop or offer. The company expects that significant time, effort, and meaningful investment will be required to increase awareness of, and participation in, programs, partnerships, or products and services that are intended to aid in lead generation.
Strategic Alliance Program: The company offers third-party service providers an opportunity to market their products to its franchisees and their independent sales agents and customers through its strategic alliance program. To participate in this program, service providers generally agree to provide preferred pricing to the company's franchisees and/or their customers or independent sales agents and to pay the company an initial access fee, subsequent marketing fees, and/or commissions based upon its franchisees' or independent sales agents' usage of the strategic alliance vendors.
Anywhere Advisors—Owned Brokerage Group
Through Owned Brokerage Group, the company owns and operates a full-service real estate brokerage business in many of the largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. Its brokerage offices are geographically diverse, with a strong presence in the east and west coast areas, primarily around large metropolitan areas in the U.S., where home prices are generally higher. The company-owned real estate brokerage business operates under the Coldwell Banker, Sotheby's International Realty®, and Corcoran® franchised brands.
As of December 31, 2024, the company had approximately 580 company-owned brokerage offices and approximately 52,900 independent sales agents working with these company-owned offices. Of those offices, the company operated approximately 88% of its offices under the Coldwell Banker brand name, approximately 8% of its offices under the Sotheby's International Realty brand name, and approximately 4% of its offices under the Corcoran brand name.
Operations—Brokerage
The company's company-owned real estate brokerage business derives revenue primarily from gross commission income received for serving as the broker at the closing of real estate transactions. For the year ended December 31, 2024, the company's average homesale broker commission rate was 2.37%, which represents the average commission rate earned on either the buy side or the sell side of a homesale transaction. Owned Brokerage Group, as a franchisee of Franchise Group, pays marketing fees and a royalty fee of approximately 6% of the gross commission income earned per real estate transaction to Franchise Group; however, such amounts are eliminated in consolidation.
In addition, as a full-service real estate brokerage company, the company promotes the complementary services offered through its other segments, including title, escrow and settlement, mortgage origination, homeowners insurance, and relocation services.
When the company assists the buyer in a real estate transaction, independent sales agents generally help the buyer in locating specific properties that meet the buyer's personal and financial specifications, show properties to the buyer, and assist the buyer in negotiating (where permissible) and preparing for closing the transaction. In addition, Owned Brokerage Group has relationships with developers in select major cities (in particular New York City) to provide marketing and brokerage services in new developments.
Anywhere Integrated Services—Title Group
Title Group consists of the company's title agency business that conducts title, escrow, and settlement services, and also includes the company's share of equity earnings and losses from certain non-exclusive joint ventures, including, among others, Guaranteed Rate Affinity (a mortgage origination joint venture) and the title insurance underwriter joint venture. The company's equity earnings or losses related to minority-owned joint ventures, such as Guaranteed Rate Affinity and the title insurance underwriter joint venture are included in the financial results of Title Group but are not reported as revenue to Title Group.
The company's title agency business provides title search, examination, clearance, and policy issuance services, and conducts the closing process and funds disbursement for lenders, real estate agents, attorneys, and homebuilders, as well as their customers on purchase transactions and lenders and their customers on refinance transactions.
The company intends to grow its title, escrow, and settlement services business by recruiting successful title and escrow sales personnel in existing markets. It will also seek to increase its capture rate of title business from Owned Brokerage Group homesale sides.
Operations
Title Agency Services; Title, Escrow, and Settlement Services: The company is licensed as a title agent in 43 states and Washington, D.C., and has physical locations in 25 states and Washington, D.C. It operates mostly in major metropolitan areas. As of December 31, 2024, the company had approximately 350 offices, approximately 126 of which are co-located within one of its company-owned brokerage offices. In addition to its own title, escrow, and settlement services, the company also coordinates a nationwide network of attorneys, title agents, and notaries to service financial institution clients on a national basis.
The company's title, escrow, and settlement services business provides full-service title, escrow, and settlement (i.e., closing and escrow) services to consumers, real estate companies, corporations, and financial institutions, with many of these services provided in connection with the company's real estate brokerage and relocation services businesses. The company provides closing and escrow services relating to the closing of home purchases and refinancing of home loans. For refinance transactions, it generates title and escrow revenues from financial institutions and loan officers throughout the mortgage lending industry.
The company's owned brokerage operations are the principal source of its title, escrow, and settlement services business for homesale transactions. Many of its offices have subleased space from and are co-located within the company's owned brokerage offices. In 2024, the company's title, escrow, and settlement services business was involved in approximately 39,000 transactions related to Owned Brokerage Group. The capture rate of the company's title, escrow, and settlement services business from buyers or sellers represented by its company-owned brokerages was approximately 31% in 2024. Other sources of the company's title, escrow, and settlement services homesale business include Franchise Group, Leads Group, home builders, and unaffiliated brokerage operations.
Virtually all lenders require their borrowers to obtain title insurance policies at the time mortgage loans are made on real property. The terms and conditions upon which the real property will be insured are determined in accordance with the standard policies and procedures of the title underwriter. When the company's title agencies sell title insurance, the title search (searching for and retrieving all public records concerning the property and its owners) may be performed by the title agent, an underwriter, or contracted to a third party, while the examination function (inspecting all such public records for any defects in the chain of title) is always performed by the agent. The title agent and underwriter split the premium. The amount of such premium split is generally determined by agreement between the agency and underwriter and, in some states, is promulgated by state law. The company derives revenue through fees charged in real estate transactions for rendering the services described above, fees charged for escrow and closing services, and a percentage of the title premium on each title insurance policy sold.
Other Revenue: Other revenue generated by the company's title agency business includes closing protection letters, title searches, survey business, tax search, wire fees, and other fees ancillary to their services.
Joint Ventures
Mortgage Origination. Guaranteed Rate Affinity, the company's mortgage origination joint venture with Guaranteed Rate, Inc., began doing business in 2017. Guaranteed Rate Affinity originates mortgage loans, including both purchase and refinancing transactions, to be sold in the secondary market. Guaranteed Rate Affinity originates and markets its mortgage lending services to real estate agents across the country (including to independent sales agents affiliated with the company's owned and franchised brokerages) and relocation companies (including the company's relocation operations), as well as a broad consumer audience.
Many of Guaranteed Rate Affinity’s offices have subleased space from and are co-located within the company's owned brokerage offices. The company's owned brokerage operations represented approximately half of Guaranteed Rate Affinity's purchase transactions, as well as approximately half of Guaranteed Rate Affinity’s mortgage origination business for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Under the Operating Agreement between a subsidiary of Title Group and a subsidiary of Guaranteed Rate, the company owns 49.9% of the home mortgage joint venture, and Guaranteed Rate indirectly owns the remaining 50.1%. Under the Operating Agreement, Guaranteed Rate Affinity is to distribute to each of the company and Guaranteed Rate the distributable net income based on each member's ownership interest percentage following the close of each quarter. While the company has certain governance rights, it does not have a controlling financial or operating interest in the joint venture. Guaranteed Rate Affinity is licensed to conduct mortgage operations in 50 states and Washington, D.C.
The company is permitted to have ventures with other mortgage loan originators, but Guaranteed Rate has a 30-day right-of-first-refusal to acquire any mortgage origination business that the company intends to acquire.
Products, Technology, and Marketing
Products and Technology—Agents. Core to the company's integrated business strategy is its ability to provide independent sales agents at company-owned and franchised brokerages with compelling data and technology-powered products and services to make them more productive and their businesses more profitable.
The marketing and technology services and support provided by independent sales agents to their customers are an important element of the value offered by an agent in the home purchase and sale process. The company's commitment to continuously develop and improve its marketing and technology-powered products and services is part of its value proposition to company-owned and franchised real estate brokerages, affiliated independent sales agents, and their customers, as well as to its other businesses. Increasingly, these products and services are desired as an integrated set of tools, rather than stand-alone products and services.
The company continues to develop product and marketing capabilities designed to support the continuous creation and delivery of both its proprietary tools and third-party products to affiliated independent sales agents in order to deliver a more comprehensive platform experience. Its technology platform is designed to offer affiliated independent sales agents and brokers seamless access to both proprietary tools and third-party products, enabling choice among such agents and brokers to leverage the mix of tools that best serve their needs.
The company has invested, and expects to continue to invest, substantial time, capital, and other resources to identify the needs of company-owned brokerages, franchisees, independent sales agents, and their customers, and to develop or procure marketing, technology, and service offerings to meet the needs of affiliated independent sales agents.
The company's platform is designed to increase the value proposition to its independent sales agents, franchisees (and their independent sales agents), and consumers by:
aiding in lead generation and obtaining additional homesale transactions; • connecting affiliated agents and brokers to a CRM tool that allows for the cultivation of productive relationships with consumers at all stages of the transaction;
enhancing access to listing distributions through mobile applications and websites;
informing affiliated agents of valuable client insight to help those agents increase their productivity;
providing consumers with a streamlined yet comprehensive user experience to facilitate the necessary steps for researching homes, communities, and independent sales agents;
providing key back-office processes, including listing and transaction management, reporting, marketing, and agent profiles; and
delivering business planning tools that enable the company's franchisees to track their progress against key business objectives in real time.
Products and Technology—Consumers. The company continues to focus on the consumer experience as well, seeking to improve the experience of buying and selling a home by creating an easier and integrated experience for all parts of a consumer's transaction. The company expects to continue to invest in the development and/or procurement of products and technology designed to deliver valuable capabilities via digital channels throughout the lifecycle of home ownership.
Marketing. Each of the company's brands manages a comprehensive system of marketing tools that can be accessed through freestanding brand intranet sites to assist its company-owned brokerages and affiliated franchisees and their respective independent sales agents in becoming the best marketers of their listings. Advertising is primarily used by the brands to drive leads to affiliated agents, increase brand awareness and perception, promote the company's network and offerings to the real estate industry, and engage its customer base.
Each of the company's franchise brands operates a marketing fund that is funded principally by its franchisees (including company-owned offices), although the company may make discretionary contributions to any of the marketing funds and in certain instances is required to make contributions to certain marketing funds. Likewise, the company's owned brokerages sponsor a wide array of marketing programs, materials, and opportunities to complement the sales work of its affiliated independent sales agents and increase brand awareness. The effectiveness and quality of marketing programs play a significant role in attracting and retaining independent sales agents.
The company's marketing programs, tools, and initiatives primarily focus on attracting potential new home buyers and sellers to its company-owned brokerages and affiliated franchisees and their respective affiliated independent sales agents by: showcasing the inventory of its real estate listings and the affiliated independent sales agents who are the listing agents of these properties; building and maintaining brand awareness and preference for the brand; and increasing the local recognition of affiliated agents and brokerages.
Marketing programs are executed using a variety of media, including but not limited to, social media, advertising, direct marketing, and internet advertising.
Listings and Websites: The internet is the primary advertising channel in the industry, and the company has sought to become a leader among full-service residential real estate brokerage firms in the use and application of marketing technology. The company transmits listings to various platforms and services, places its property listings on hundreds of real estate websites, and operates a variety of its own websites. The company places significant emphasis on distributing its real estate listings with third-party websites to expand a homebuyer's access to such listings, at times enhancing the presentation of the listings on third-party websites to make the listings more attractive to consumers.
The company's brand websites contain listing information on a regional and national market basis, independent sales agent information, community profiles, home buying and selling advice, relocation tips, mortgage financing information, and unique property and neighborhood insights from local agents. Additionally, each brand website allows independent sales agents to market themselves to consumers.
Education
Each real estate brand provides franchisees access to learning, development, and continuing education materials for use in connection with their real estate sales businesses. Use of such materials by affiliated brokers and independent sales agents is voluntary and discretionary. Independent sales agents affiliated with a company-owned brokerage must complete onboarding training and compliance training related to fair housing (in addition to their state licensing fair housing obligations).
Competition
Real Estate Brokerage Industry
The company's largest national competitors in this industry include, but are not limited to, HomeServices of America (a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate), Howard Hanna Holdings, Compass, Inc. (which recently acquired @properties), Redfin Corporation, EXP Realty (a subsidiary of eXp World Holdings, Inc.), Weichert Realtors, as well as several large franchisors, including RE/MAX International, Inc., Keller Williams Realty, Inc., and HSF Affiliates LLC (which operates Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and Real Living Real Estate). The company and its affiliated franchisees also compete with leading listing aggregators, such as Zillow, Inc. and Realtor.com (a listing aggregator held by News Corp.) as well as Homes.com (a listing aggregator held by CoStar Group, Inc.). In addition, the company and its affiliated franchisees compete for consumer business with several iBuyers, including Opendoor and Offerpad.
Relocation Operations
The larger outsourced relocation service providers that the company competes with include SIRVA Worldwide, Inc., Weichert Relocation Resources, Inc., Aires, and Graebel Companies, Inc.
Regulations
The company's business is subject to antitrust and competition laws in the various jurisdictions where it operates, including the Sherman Antitrust Act, the Federal Trade Commission Act, and the Clayton Act, as well as related federal and state antitrust and competition laws in the U.S. The penalties for violating antitrust and competition laws can be severe.
The company's international business activities, particularly its relocation operations, must comply with applicable laws and regulations that impose sanctions on improper payments, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, U.K. Bribery Act, and similar laws of other countries.
For example, in the U.S., the company is required to comply with the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which governs the disclosure and safeguarding of consumer financial information, as well as state statutes governing privacy and cybersecurity matters, like the California Consumer Privacy Act and the New York Department of Financial Services Cybersecurity Regulation.
The company participates in the mortgage origination business through its 49.9% ownership of Guaranteed Rate Affinity. Private mortgage lenders operating in the U.S. are subject to comprehensive state and federal regulation and to significant oversight by government-sponsored entities.
History
The company was incorporated in 2006. It was formerly known as Realogy Holdings Corp. and changed its name to Anywhere Real Estate Inc. in 2022.
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