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Revenue Recognition (Policies) | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2019
Revenue Recognition [Abstract] |
Revenue Recognition, Policy | 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 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, 2019 vs December 31, 2018 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Realogy Franchise Group |  |  |  | Realogy Brokerage Group |  |  |  | Realogy Title Group |  |  |  | Realogy Leads Group |  |  |  | Corporate and Other |  |  |  | Total Company |  |
| 2019 |  | 2018 |  | 2019 |  | 2018 |  | 2019 |  | 2018 |  | 2019 |  | 2018 |  | 2019 |  | 2018 |  | 2019 |  | 2018
Gross commission income (a) | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 4,330 |  |  | $ | 4,533 |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 4,330 |  |  | $ | 4,533 |
Service revenue (b) | — |  |  | — |  |  | 11 |  |  | 9 |  |  | 579 |  |  | 564 |  |  | 83 |  |  | 81 |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | 673 |  |  | 654 |
Franchise fees (c) | 668 |  |  | 688 |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | (282) |  |  | (295) |  |  | 386 |  |  | 393 |
Other (d) | 135 |  |  | 132 |  |  | 68 |  |  | 65 |  |  | 17 |  |  | 16 |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | (11) |  |  | (11) |  |  | 209 |  |  | 202 |
Net revenues | $ | 803 |  |  | $ | 820 |  |  | $ | 4,409 |  |  | $ | 4,607 |  |  | $ | 596 |  |  | $ | 580 |  |  | $ | 83 |  |  | $ | 81 |  |  | $ | (293) |  |  | $ | (306) |  |  | $ | 5,598 |  |  | $ | 5,782 |
| Years Ended December 31, 2018 vs December 31, 2017 (e) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Realogy Franchise Group |  |  |  | Realogy Brokerage Group |  |  |  | Realogy Title Group |  |  |  | Realogy Leads Group |  |  |  | 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 |  |  | 564 |  |  | 551 |  |  | 81 |  |  | 78 |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | 654 |  |  | 638 |
Franchise fees (c) | 688 |  |  | 695 |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | (295) |  |  | (299) |  |  | 393 |  |  | 396 |
Other (d) | 132 |  |  | 135 |  |  | 65 |  |  | 58 |  |  | 16 |  |  | 19 |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | (11) |  |  | (12) |  |  | 202 |  |  | 200 |
Net revenues | $ | 820 |  |  | $ | 830 |  |  | $ | 4,607 |  |  | $ | 4,643 |  |  | $ | 580 |  |  | $ | 570 |  |  | $ | 81 |  |  | $ | 78 |  |  | $ | (306) |  |  | $ | (311) |  |  | $ | 5,782 |  |  | $ | 5,810 |
_______________ (a)Approximately 80% of the Company's total net revenues is related to gross commission income at Realogy Brokerage Group, which is recognized at a point in time at the closing of a homesale transaction. (b)Approximately 10% of the Company's total net revenues is related to service fees primarily consisting of title and escrow fees at Realogy Title Group, which are recognized at a point in time at the closing of a homesale transaction. (c)Approximately 7% of the Company's total net revenues is related to franchise fees at Realogy Franchise Group, 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)Less than 5% of the Company's total net revenues is related to other revenue, which comprised of brand marketing funds received at Realogy Franchise Group from franchisees, third-party listing fees and other miscellaneous revenues across all of the business segments. (e)Amounts for the year ended December 31, 2017 have not been adjusted under the modified retrospective method. The Company's revenue streams are discussed further below by business segment: Realogy Franchise Group 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. Other sales incentives are generally 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 increased from $12 million at January 1, 2019 to $13 million at December 31, 2019 primarily due to additional fees received from franchisees, partially offset by amounts recognized into revenue matching expenses for marketing activities during the year ended December 31, 2019. The Company collects initial area development fees ("ADFs") for international territory transactions, which are recorded as deferred revenue when received and are classified as current or non-current liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheets based on the expected timing of revenue recognition. ADFs are 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. In the event an ADF agreement is terminated prior to the end of its term, the unamortized deferred revenue balance will be recognized into revenue immediately upon termination. The balance for deferred ADFs decreased from $54 million at January 1, 2019 to $48 million at December 31, 2019 due to revenues of $8 million recognized during the year ended December 31, 2019 that were included in the deferred revenue balance at the beginning of the period, partially offset by $2 million of additional area development fees received during the year ended December 31, 2019. 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 Company classifies prepaid commissions as current or non-current assets in the Consolidated Balance Sheets based on the expected timing of recognizing expense. 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 and $25 million at December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Realogy Brokerage Group 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 decreased from $10 million at January 1, 2019 to $9 million at December 31, 2019 due to a $2 million decrease as a result of revenues recognized on units closed, partially offset by a $1 million increase related to additional commissions received for new developments. Realogy Title Group 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. Realogy Leads Group T he 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 affinity members, which is recognized at a point in time when the underlying property closes. Realogy Leads Group also manages the Realogy 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 advance and recognized into revenue on a straight-line basis each month during the membership period. The balance for deferred network fees increased from zero at January 1, 2019 to $3 million at December 31, 2019 due to a $13 million increase related to new network fees, partially offset by $10 million of revenues recognized during the year that were included in the deferred revenue balance at the beginning of the period. 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, 2019 |  |  |  |  |  |
| Beginning Balance at January 1, 2019 |  | Additions during the period |  | Recognized as Revenue during the period |  | Ending Balance at December 31, 2019
Realogy Franchise Group (a) | $ | 78 |  |  | $ | 118 |  |  | $ | (127) |  |  | $ | 69 |
Realogy Brokerage Group | 14 |  |  | 8 |  |  | (9) |  |  | 13 |
Realogy Leads Group | — |  |  | 13 |  |  | (10) |  |  | 3 |
Total | $ | 92 |  |  | $ | 139 |  |  | $ | (146) |  |  | $ | 85 |
_______________ (a)Revenues recognized include intercompany marketing fees paid by Realogy Brokerage Group. The majority of the Company's contracts are transactional in nature or have a duration of one-year or less. Accordingly, the Company does not disclose the value of unsatisfied performance obligations for contracts with an original expected length of one year or less.

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