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As president and CEO of Anywhere Brands and Anywhere Advisors, Sue Yanacone wears many hats.
Anywhere is known for backing some of the most recognizable brands in real estate, including Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Corcoran, ERA, and Sotheby’s International Realty.
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As the industry faces market challenges, turmoil in National Association of Realtors leadership, litigation, and significant changes in practice, Yanacone is guiding franchisors and their approximately 337,000 salespeople through turbulent waters in 118 countries and territories. It helped guide me.
Mr. Inman interviewed Mr. Janakorn in advance of his appearance at Inman Connect New York in January to discuss hot topics, goals, challenges, and advice for agents seeking guidance in the new year.
Her remarks are edited below for space and clarity.
Inman: The National Association of Realtors faced challenges this year between leadership changes and industry litigation. The National Association of Realtors has now been launched to replace the NAR. Do you think it’s a viable alternative at this point? I know it’s still very new.
Janakorn: Yeah, I don’t know enough about that. I think there are always opportunities when things are changing in an industry and people are looking for alternatives.
I think this speaks to an industry that is ready for change and one that is willing to be an advocate for it. I think the important thing is to make sure that we have independent industry groups and advocacy groups that support our constituents. And, you know, that focus and that goal is kind of transparent. So I think that’s going to be something that we’ll be looking at.
As we’ve seen, things come and go, but I’m praying that the people who are paying attention to this industry will change it for the best. Like that.
The other thing I wanted to hear about is the fact that Anywhere’s luxury brands have been performing very well in recent quarters. Do you think this momentum will continue into 2025? Are there any specific challenges you think luxury agencies will face next year?
Look, we’ve sold more million-dollar homes than anyone else in the industry. We have very strong luxury leadership in the global luxury business with Sotheby’s International Realty, Corcoran and of course Coldwell Banker Realty. And we love the luxury business. It’s very strong. It continues to do well.
One of the great things about the luxury space is that it’s a dynamic business in any market, right? It’s definitely less sensitive to interest rate fluctuations. We have earned strong trust from consumers.
In November, I accompanied Sotheby’s International Realty Group’s Top 100 Agent Group, and they expressed strong consumer sentiment toward their clients. Our stock market is relatively strong, and this kind of thing is very helpful to wealthy buyers in the luxury goods market. I mean, we keep seeing it.
As I said, we’re in 118 countries. We have a very strong international presence in our luxury goods businesses, and we see demand for that to continue to be strong as we grow these businesses internationally. So our luxury goods business is doing very well. And as we know, luxury goods always break out of constrained markets; [that’s] It still remains that way, and in fact it has remained strong during this time. Really, we’re really happy with that business.
wonderful. Thinking about the bigger picture here, what do you think are the biggest challenges facing the industry next year? You mentioned in a previous conversation that inventory is one of the things the industry continues to grapple with. What else?
When I think about 2025, I think of 2024 as a year of adapting to new ways of doing business. And our industry also appeared. I was so proud of my ecosystem, my brand, the resilience of my agents and their ability to weather change and continue to deliver value to our clients.
So I think the most important thing going into 2025 is to continue these learnings as the market changes or we may face challenges.
We don’t know how this year will turn out, whether it’s the legal situation or not. I have full confidence in our legal team to help us navigate this situation. I challenge our team to focus on growth, servicing our customers, and supporting home sales transactions.
It will be important not to lose sight of the lessons we have learned, to withstand any storm, to adapt and be nimble, and to continue to grow. And that will be important for the industry in a market where we don’t know what’s going to happen. We never know, but that’s the beauty of our business and the entrepreneurial spirit that drives us.
So what are Anywhere’s big goals for next year?
Sure, I know I mentioned growth. We continue to grow our integrated business operations, delivering value and opportunity to our affiliates, helping them grow their businesses, and helping our agents leverage those integrated services to do more. I think we’re really leaning into our size by helping businesses do business and stay afloat. Invest in technology to improve transaction efficiency.
In addition to leveraging AI and generative AI to make both internal business processes more efficient and effective and better serving consumers, we will also invest in listing concierge programs, marketing platforms, and more. Generative AI that makes agents better.
I believe we continue to navigate a challenging market with our employees as we focus on growth by leveraging technology to drive efficiencies and drive integration of consumer and agent transactions. So I actually think the focus for 2025 is to get back into action. It’s about raising the bar for what we’ve done so far and continuing to move forward and leveraging everything we’ve done so far to get us through and drive forward and help the company grow.
Speaking more specifically about AI, there have been so many developments in the last year, especially within the industry itself. What do you think will happen next year?
who knows? I think the opportunities are endless. We use it every day, here and everywhere, from marketing tools and systems to reporting automation and infrastructure rationalization to how we can actually leverage it to move faster.
The other day we were talking about something that took four hours a year ago. [now takes] It gets faster and faster, like 30 minutes or 4 minutes. So I think what’s going to happen is we’re going to continue to see that accelerate.
AI is advancing faster than we can currently measure, right? I mean, it’s just crazy. Therefore, to take advantage of it, companies need to have a good team that knows how to implement it into their systems. And that’s one of the great things about the size of a company like ours, we have the talent and we have the opportunity to implement it in so many different aspects, and overall we have the benefit. That means you can get it. However, I don’t think we yet know where the benefits will be. And it’s going to be pretty awesome to watch.
Agreed. Thinking about agents who have struggled with not only their industry but also the market changes over the last year, what advice would you give them to reset in 2025?
Now is the perfect time to reset. It’s the end of the year. Turn around, be very honest, and look in the mirror. What did I want to achieve? What didn’t you accomplish and why? And have honest conversations and be very open about where you need to pivot to grow through future changes.
No one has ever grown and achieved what they wanted by ignoring what was right in front of them. So we’re open to any growth opportunities that are out there and lean into the change. Find a mentor. Work with your manager and ask for his or her help in accepting whatever is coming and going. You know, take some classes.
In our industry, I think it’s always extremely valuable to find an agent who will hold you accountable for the changes you want to see and support you. Because no one will do it for you, and no one will want it any more than you want it for yourself.
For agents looking to do more next year, be honest about what held you back this year and ask for help. This is a team sport so it always helps to have some fans in your corner to help out. So don’t be afraid to ask your manager to help you, the leader, call a friend from time to time. Very helpful.
Is there anything else?
I think next year will be a year where we can really make the most of ourselves. As I said earlier, 2024 will be a year of adaptation, and 2025 will be a year of action. That’s where I’m really focused. Stop talking about changes in the law or industry. It’s bound to happen. Implement, start working, and focus on serving your consumers.
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