Anywhere Real Estate CEO Ryan Schneider has a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.
Schneider led the parent company to Corcoran Group, Coldwell Banker, Century21 and Sotheby’s International Realty to propose settlements in two landmark lawsuits over broker commissions. The company also reported its second consecutive profitable quarter last month.
As his reward, Anywhere’s board is giving him a $5 million cash bonus, a Securities and Exchange commission filing shows. Schneider’s base salary as of 2022 was $1 million, which does not include stock and other compensation.
The board cited Schneider’s “exemplary leadership in the current very challenging residential resale market,” as well as his leadership in “removing enormous litigation uncertainties and burdens” for Anywhere. The company also pointed to Schneider’s role in reducing about $280 million in debt in the third quarter and cost savings during the past several years.
Anywhere was the first to settle all claims in the first antitrust lawsuits slated for trial.
In Sitzer/Burnett v. National Association of Realtors, a Kansas City jury found NAR, Keller Williams and HomeServices of America liable of forcing home sellers to pay inflated buyer agent commissions in an anti-competitive system. The jury awarded $1.8 billion in damages, which could be trebled to more than $5 billion.
Moehrl v. NAR, a case set to go to trial next year in Illinois, could result in damages topping $40 billion.
Anywhere, formerly known as Realogy, agreed to settle both cases for $83.5 million in September. A judge granted preliminary approval to the settlement this week, the same day Anywhere’s board announced Schneider’s bonus. Final approval is expected next year.
Since the verdict in the Sitzer/Burnett case, similar lawsuits have popped up across the country, including in Texas and South Carolina.
The settlement also frees Anywhere from time and cost associated with litigation, Anywhere said in the SEC filing.
As part of the settlement, Anywhere agreed to require agents include the listing broker’s required compensation in active listings and will ban company-owned brokerages and their agents from sorting listings by compensation offers, unless their clients request that. Anywhere will also ban those brokerages and their agents from claiming buyer agent services are free.
Schneider could also receive similar performance-based compensation awards of $5 million in 2024 and 2025.
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