Six years into leading the U.S.’s largest real estate enterprise, Schneider has continued to strengthen the foundation of the formidable company. This has catapulted him, for the first time, to the top slot in the SP 200!
He did this by solidifying a significant rebrand, streamlining company leadership structure, cutting costs in a challenging real estate climate that has kept the company profitable when many others struggled, and coordinating a nationwide settlement that put any business uncertainty about the significant compensation lawsuits to rest for the firm.
Anywhere is the industry behemoth. It owns the nation’s second largest brokerage in Anywhere Advisors and more franchise brands than any other company with: Coldwell Banker Real Estate, Sotheby’s International Realty, Century 21, Corcoran Group, ERA Real Estate and Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate. Combined, Anywhere is the nation’s largest enterprise, with 2022 production of over $636 billion in U.S. sales, 1.2 million transactions and over 195,000 agents in the U.S.
2023 was a challenging year for all real estate firms – transactions were down, as limited inventory and relatively higher mortgage rates stalled sales. Anywhere saw transactions drop by approximately a fifth at both its company-owned and franchised offices. Regardless, through the third quarter of 2023, the company achieved the following:
• $4.4 billion in revenue
• Net income of $10 million
• Increased its net royalty per franchised transaction
• Settled the class-action antitrust lawsuits for $83.5 million
That last achievement is a big one. With the October 2023 settlement, which is still pending court approval in early 2024, Schneider made a decisive move to free his company, in all corners of the U.S., from the formidable challenges to the industry’s compensation structure posed by the Sitzer-Burnett and Moehrl class-action lawsuits. This proved savvy, as follow-on lawsuits quickly proliferated in the wake of the Sitzer-Burnett decision, which makes settlement for other firms that much tricker, and more expensive. The terms of the settlement also show a way forward for how the industry could adapt to mitigate future risk.
Schneider earned a $5 million bonus for the board for securing the settlement, and, for his overall performance, company profitability and steadiness, he has become the nation’s most powerful leader.