Karri Callahan: Hey, good morning, Tommy. Good morning, Karri. So, yeah, I think, you know, the trends are going to be, I think, similar, but hopefully some improvement. So still expecting kind of relatively flat performance in Canada. Obviously, it’s been a tough end market there, but I think it really does highlight the strength of the brand up in Canada. Still expecting to see growth in international. Again, hallmark of the RE/MAX brand is just the global footprint. And then in the U.S., still expecting to see some pressure, but hopefully a little bit less of a decline than what we saw in 2023.
Thomas McJoynt: Okay, got it. Thank you. And then the next question, you mentioned the revenue headwinds related to the convention and then the legacy tech revenue headwinds. What’s the impact on earnings or EBITDA from those two items?
Karri Callahan: So, yeah, the impact to the convention is kind of 0.5 million in Q1. And then on the others, it’s about $1 million for the full year.
Thomas McJoynt: Perfect. Got it. Okay. And then just my last question, you know, with RE/MAX agents obviously representing such a broad base of the market, naturally you kind of see lots of data on how your agents are transacting. With all the headlines around the settlement and the class action litigation in the industry, have you noticed any increase in the use of buyer-agent agreements or more buyers paying their buyer agents directly or any new commission models that have gained traction, like, you know, flat fee models or just kind of what are you seeing in the past few months now that, you know, some of these headlines have become more pronounced?
Erik Carlson: Hi, Tommy, it’s Erik. I’m going to comment on that. I’ll let Amy kind of dig into some of the details. But I think, one of the things from the investment there on a differentiated basis is we’re getting a lot of positive feedback from the network, right, and feedback about that for 50 years really we’ve cared about agents and agents feel like with us leading with anywhere on the settlement, they appreciate that leadership position and they appreciate us making an investment in helping them through a very tough time. On the agreement side, I’ll let Amy comment on a few more details that she’s hearing specifically from the network.
Amy Lessinger: Yes, I think, first of all, I think that this shows that we care about our agents and without a doubt the sentiment is terrific. One of our big things is education and, for example, we in RE/MAX University, we offer something called the accredited buyer representative designation which gives our agents education on exactly how to articulate their value proposition, et cetera. So, we anticipate that, there will be more demand for that as we move through, but as far as, varied models, et cetera, that are out there, I think it’s too soon to really highlight those.
Ward Morrison: And, Tommy, I would add in there on the mortgage side of the house, they’re continuing to be ahead of the curve as well. So they’re talking to different groups, talking to the Fannie, Freddie, FHA, VA to understand can we potentially put the buyer’s agency commission into the transaction in some form or fashion? So even the mortgage side of the house is trying to figure out if changes happen in the industry, how can we support those changes?
Thomas McJoynt: Yes, I agree. Thank you. It’ll be interesting to watch how that develops. Thanks for the responses.
Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Ryan McKeveny from Zelman. Please go ahead.
Ryan McKeveny: Hi, good morning. Welcome to Erik and Amy. A bit of a high-level question for Amy, so I think pretty ingrained and visible and respected, obviously, across the network for a long time. So I guess anything you can share on maybe what your strategic approach will be, what should franchise owners and agents think about that’s maybe going to be the same or different than Nick in that seat and just kind of big picture opportunities you see to kind of move the needle going forward would be great? Thank you very much.
Erik Carlson: Hi, Ryan, it’s Erik. I mean, it’s, just day one right off the bat, what is the overall strategy? So I appreciate the pressure. And Amy, she’s got a good response for that.
Amy Lessinger: Yes, having been in the business for a very long time as an agent, a team leader, a broker, I do see things from an entrepreneurial standpoint, from their standpoint. And, I’ve used that experience in almost the last four years that I’ve been on this side to help drive the initiatives forward to provide our network with what they need to excel. And so, of course, I echo Erik’s sentiments with respect to we’ve got to stabilize agent count and grow agent count in the U.S. That will be the first and foremost priority that I have.
Erik Carlson: Hi, look, Ryan, I think we do that a bit by, obviously leaning in. You know, it’s been a tough year like I’ve stated. But the great thing and one of the reasons that I stated on why I love this network is just the passion, not only the passion from the people here at HQ or the folks in the field that are supporting our RE/MAX brokers and agents, but the network itself has an unbelievable passion for the brand, for what they do on a daily basis, for being curious about how they can get better, about innovating. And so, from a corporate perspective or a franchise or perspective, there’s opportunities for us to lean in and to educate, in a different way, to use technology to help enable, effectiveness and efficiency.
