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Note 3. Revenue Recognition Revenue Recognition (Policies) | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2018
Revenue Recognition [Abstract] |
Revenue Recognition, Policy | Revenue Recognition Revenue is recognized upon the transfer of control of promised services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to receive in exchange for those services in accordance with the new revenue standard. The Company's revenue is disaggregated by major revenue categories on our Consolidated Statements of Operations and further disaggregated by business segment as follows:
| Years Ended December 31, 2018 vs December 31, 2017 (e)
| Real Estate Franchise Services |  | Company Owned Brokerage Services |  | Relocation Services |  | Title and Settlement Services |  | Corporate and Other |  | Total Company
| 2018 |  | 2017 |  | 2018 |  | 2017 |  | 2018 |  | 2017 |  | 2018 |  | 2017 |  | 2018 |  | 2017 |  | 2018 |  | 2017
Gross commission income (a) | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 4,533 |  |  | $ | 4,576 |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 4,533 |  |  | $ | 4,576 |
Service revenue (b) | — |  |  | — |  |  | 9 |  |  | 9 |  |  | 374 |  |  | 378 |  |  | 564 |  |  | 551 |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | 947 |  |  | 938 |
Franchise fees (c) | 688 |  |  | 695 |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | (295 | ) |  | (299 | ) |  | 393 |  |  | 396 |
Other (d) | 132 |  |  | 135 |  |  | 65 |  |  | 58 |  |  | 4 |  |  | 4 |  |  | 16 |  |  | 19 |  |  | (11 | ) |  | (12 | ) |  | 206 |  |  | 204 |
Net revenues | $ | 820 |  |  | $ | 830 |  |  | $ | 4,607 |  |  | $ | 4,643 |  |  | $ | 378 |  |  | $ | 382 |  |  | $ | 580 |  |  | $ | 570 |  |  | $ | (306 | ) |  | $ | (311 | ) |  | $ | 6,079 |  |  | $ | 6,114 |
| Years Ended December 31, 2017 vs December 31, 2016 (e)
| Real Estate Franchise Services |  | Company Owned Brokerage Services |  | Relocation Services |  | Title and Settlement Services |  | Corporate and Other |  | Total Company
| 2017 |  | 2016 |  | 2017 |  | 2016 |  | 2017 |  | 2016 |  | 2017 |  | 2016 |  | 2017 |  | 2016 |  | 2017 |  | 2016
Gross commission income (a) | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 4,576 |  |  | $ | 4,277 |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 4,576 |  |  | $ | 4,277 |
Service revenue (b) | — |  |  | — |  |  | 9 |  |  | 3 |  |  | 378 |  |  | 401 |  |  | 551 |  |  | 551 |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | 938 |  |  | 955 |
Franchise fees (c) | 695 |  |  | 654 |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | (299 | ) |  | (282 | ) |  | 396 |  |  | 372 |
Other (d) | 135 |  |  | 127 |  |  | 58 |  |  | 64 |  |  | 4 |  |  | 4 |  |  | 19 |  |  | 22 |  |  | (12 | ) |  | (11 | ) |  | 204 |  |  | 206 |
Net revenues | $ | 830 |  |  | $ | 781 |  |  | $ | 4,643 |  |  | $ | 4,344 |  |  | $ | 382 |  |  | $ | 405 |  |  | $ | 570 |  |  | $ | 573 |  |  | $ | (311 | ) |  | $ | (293 | ) |  | $ | 6,114 |  |  | $ | 5,810 |
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(a) | Approximately 75% of the Company's total net revenues related to gross commission income at the Company Owned Brokerage Services segment, which is recognized at a point in time at the closing of a homesale transaction.
(b) | Approximately 15% of the Company's total net revenues related to service fees primarily consisting of title and escrow fees at the Title and Settlement Services segment, which are recognized at a point in time at the closing of a homesale transaction, and relocation fees at the Relocation Services segment, which are recognized as revenue when or as the related performance obligation is satisfied, which is dependent on the type of service performed. Relocation fees at the Relocation Services segment primarily include: (i) referral fees which are recognized at a point in time of the closing of a homesale transaction, (ii) outsourcing fees, which are management fees charged to clients frequently related to a bundle of relocation services performed and are recognized over the average time period to complete a move, and (iii) referral commissions from third party suppliers which are recognized at the time of the completion of the related service.
(c) | Approximately 5% of the Company's total net revenues related to franchise fees at the Real Estate Franchise Services segment, primarily domestic royalties, which are recognized at a point in time when the underlying franchisee revenue is earned (upon close of the homesale transaction).
(d) | Approximately 5% of the Company's total net revenues related to other revenue, which comprised of brand marketing funds received at the Real Estate Franchise Services segment from franchisees and other miscellaneous revenues across all of the business segments.
(e) | Prior period amounts have not been adjusted under the modified retrospective method.
The Company's revenue streams are discussed further below by business segment: Real Estate Franchise Services The Company franchises its real estate brands to real estate brokerage businesses that are independently owned and operated. Franchise revenue principally consists of royalty and marketing fees from the Company’s franchisees. The royalty received is primarily based on a gross percentage (generally 6%) of the franchisee’s gross commission income. Royalty fees are accrued as the underlying franchisee revenue is earned (upon close of the homesale transaction). Annual volume incentives given to certain franchisees on royalty fees are recorded as a reduction to revenue and are accrued for in relative proportion to the recognition of the underlying gross franchise revenue. Non-standard sales incentives are recorded as a reduction to revenue ratably over the related performance period or from the date of issuance through the remaining life of the related franchise agreement. Franchise revenue also includes domestic initial franchise fees which are generally non-refundable and recognized by the Company as revenue upon the execution or opening of a new franchisee office to cover the upfront costs associated with opening the franchisee for business under one of Realogy’s brands. The Company also earns marketing fees from its franchisees and utilizes such fees to fund marketing campaigns on behalf of its franchisees. As such, brand marketing fund fees are recorded as deferred revenue when received and recognized into revenue as earned when these funds are spent on marketing activities. The balance for deferred brand marketing fund fees decrease d from $13 million at January 1, 2018 to $12 million at December 31, 2018 primarily due to amounts recognized into revenue matching expenses for marketing activities, partially offset by additional fees received from franchisees during the year ended December 31, 2018. The Company collects initial ADFs for international territory transactions, which are recorded as deferred revenue when received and recognized into franchise revenue over the average 25 year life of the related franchise agreement as consideration for the right to access and benefit from Realogy’s brands. The balance for deferred ADFs decrease d from $58 million at January 1, 2018 to $54 million at December 31, 2018 due to revenues of $5 million recognized during the year ended December 31, 2018 that were included in the deferred revenue balance at the beginning of the period, partially offset by $1 million of additional area development fees received during the year ended December 31, 2018. In addition, the Company recognizes a deferred asset for commissions paid to Realogy franchise sales employees upon the sale of a new franchise as these are considered costs of obtaining a contract with a customer that are expected to provide benefits to the Company for longer than one year. The amount of commissions is calculated as a percentage of the anticipated gross commission income of the new franchisee or ADF and is amortized over 30 years for domestic franchise agreements or the agreement term for international franchise agreements (generally 25 years). The amount of prepaid commissions was $24 million at January 1, 2018 and $25 million at December 31, 2018. Company Owned Real Estate Brokerage Services As an owner-operator of real estate brokerages, the Company assists home buyers and sellers in listing, marketing, selling and finding homes. Real estate commissions earned by the Company’s real estate brokerage business are recorded as revenue at a point in time which is upon the closing of a real estate transaction (i.e., purchase or sale of a home). These revenues are referred to as gross commission income. The commissions the Company pays to real estate agents are recognized concurrently with associated revenues and presented as the commission and other agent-related costs line item on the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations. The Company has relationships with developers, primarily in major cities, to provide marketing and brokerage services in new developments. New development closings generally have a development period of between 18 and 24 months from contracted date to closing. In some cases, the Company receives advanced commissions which are recorded as deferred revenue when received and recognized as revenue when the new development closes. The balance of advanced commissions related to developments was a liability of $10 million at both January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2018. During the year ended December 31, 2018, the balance increased $6 million related to additional commissions received for new developments, offset by a $6 million decrease due to revenues recognized on units closed. Relocation Services The Company provides relocation services to corporate and government clients for the transfer of their employees ("transferees"). Such services include homesale assistance including the purchasing and/or selling of a transferee’s home and providing home equity advances to transferees (generally guaranteed by the individual's employer), arranging household goods moving services, and other relocation services such as expense processing, relocation policy counseling, relocation-related accounting, coordinating visa and immigration support, intercultural and language training and destination services. In the majority of relocation transactions, the gain or loss on the sale of a transferee’s home is generally borne by the individual's employer. C lients may pay an outsourcing management fee that can cover several of the relocation services listed above, according to the clients' specific needs. In addition, the Company provides home buying and selling assistance to members of Affinity organizations. The Company earns referral commission revenue primarily from real estate brokers for the home sale and purchase for transferees a nd Affinity members, which is recognized at a point in time when the underlying property closes. Revenues from other third-party service providers where the Company earns a referral commission are recognized at the point in time at the completion of services. Furthermore, the Company generally earns interest income on the funds it advances on behalf of the transferring employee, which is recorded within other revenue (as is the corresponding interest expense on the securitization obligations) in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations. The Company earns revenues from outsourcing management fees charged to clients for the performance and facilitation of relocation services. Outsourcing management fees are recorded as deferred revenue when billed (usually at the start of the relocation) and are recognized as revenue over the average time period required to complete the transferee's move, or a phase of the move that the fee covers, which is typically 3 to 6 months depending on the move type. The balance for outsourcing management fees decrease d from $5 million on January 1, 2018 to $4 million on December 31, 2018. During the year ended December 31, 2018, the balance increased $62 million primarily related to additions due to new management fees billed on new relocation files in advance of the Company satisfying its performance obligation, offset by a $63 million decrease as a result of revenues recognized as the performance obligations were satisfied. The Relocation Services segment manages the Cartus Broker Network, which is a network of real estate brokers consisting of our company owned brokerage operations, select franchisees and independent real estate brokers who have been approved to become members. Network fees are billed in the fourth quarter of the previous year for the following year's membership. Starting with 2019 membership fees, the network fees were billed in the first quarter of 2019, resulting in a zero balance at the end of 2018. These fees are recognized into revenue on a straight-line basis each month during the membership period. The balance for Cartus Broker Membership decrease d from $8 million at January 1, 2018 to zero at December 31, 2018 due to $12 million of revenues recognized during the year ended December 31, 2018 that were included in the deferred revenue balance at the beginning of the period, offset by a $4 million increase related to new network fees. Title and Settlement Services The Company provides title and closing services, which include title search procedures for title insurance policies, homesale escrow and other closing services. Title revenues and title and closing service fees are recorded at a point in time which occurs at the time a homesale transaction or refinancing closes. The Company also owns an underwriter of title insurance. For unaffiliated agents, the underwriter recognizes policy premium revenue on a gross basis (before deduction of agent commission) upon notice of policy issuance from the agent. For affiliated title agents, the underwriter recognizes the incremental policy premium revenue upon the effective date of the title policy as the agent commission revenue is already recognized by the affiliated title agent. Contract Balances (Deferred Revenue) The following table shows the change in the Company's contract liabilities related to revenue contracts by reportable segment for the period:
| Year Ended December 31, 2018
| Beginning Balance at January 1, 2018 |  | Additions during the period |  | Recognized as Revenue during the period |  | Ending Balance at December 31, 2018
Real Estate Franchise Services (a) | $ | 79 |  |  | $ | 118 |  |  | $ | (119 | ) |  | $ | 78 |
Company Owned Real Estate Brokerage Services | 17 |  |  | 19 |  |  | (18 | ) |  | 18 |
Relocation Services | 18 |  |  | 87 |  |  | (96 | ) |  | 9 |
Total | $ | 114 |  |  | $ | 224 |  |  | $ | (233 | ) |  | $ | 105 |
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(a) | Revenues recognized include intercompany marketing fees paid by the Company Owned Real Estate Brokerage Services segment.

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- Definition Disclosure of accounting policy for revenue recognition. If the entity has different policies for different types of revenue transactions, the policy for each material type of transaction is generally disclosed. If a sales transaction has multiple element arrangements (for example, delivery of multiple products, services or the rights to use assets) the disclosure may indicate the accounting policy for each unit of accounting as well as how units of accounting are determined and valued. The disclosure may encompass important judgment as to appropriateness of principles related to recognition of revenue. The disclosure also may indicate the entity's treatment of any unearned or deferred revenue that arises from the transaction. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/otherTransitionRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 3 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84158767&loc=d3e18780-107790 Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/otherTransitionRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84158767&loc=d3e18726-107790 Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/otherTransitionRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 4 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84158767&loc=d3e18823-107790 + Details
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