Company: HOUS
Filing Date: 2025-02-25
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001398987-25-000020
Chunk: 158

Company: Anywhere Real Estate Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-02-25
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 158
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Our business is significantly affected by the monetary policies of the federal government and its agencies. We are particularly affected by the policies of the Federal Reserve. These policies regulate the supply of money and credit in the U.S. and impact the real estate market through their effect on interest rates (and mortgage rates) as well as the cost of our interest-bearing liabilities. The Federal Reserve took aggressive action intended to control inflation in 2022 and 2023, including raising the target federal funds rate and reducing its holdings of mortgage-backed securities. While the Federal Reserve lowered the federal funds rate by a total of 100 basis points in 2024, mortgage rates have remained relatively high. Rising or high interest rates generally contribute to rising or high mortgage rates, which can lead to declines in residential real estate homesale transaction volume (as evidenced by the significant volume declines in the past two years), or to homebuilders discontinuing or delaying new projects, which could further contribute to inventory constraints and to inventory shortages as homeowners retain their homes for longer periods due to high mortgage rates.

The high interest rate environment has negatively impacted and, until the interest rate environment meaningfully improves, is expected to continue to negatively impact multiple aspects of our business, as increases in mortgage rates (as well as prolonged periods of high mortgage rates) generally have an adverse impact on homesale transaction volume, housing affordability, and title, mortgage and refinancing volumes. We believe the high mortgage rate environment is a key contributor to declines in residential real estate homesale transaction volume, as potential home sellers choose to stay with their lower mortgage rate rather than sell their home and pay a higher mortgage rate with the purchase of another home and potential home buyers choose to rent rather than pay higher mortgage rates. If existing homesale transactions continue to be at depressed levels or decline further (due to the high mortgage rate environment or otherwise), we would also expect to continue to experience decreased title, mortgage origination and refinancing activity.

The imposition of more stringent mortgage underwriting standards (due to changes in policy or otherwise) or a reduction in the availability of alternative mortgage products could also reduce homebuyers' ability to access the credit markets on reasonable terms and adversely affect the ability and willingness of prospective buyers to finance home purchases or to sell their existing homes.

Changes in the Federal Reserve's policies, the interest rate environment, and the mortgage market are beyond our control, are difficult to predict, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. A significant decline in the number of homesale transactions