Compass Buys Anywhere: How Might This Reshape the Real Estate Industry (and Relocation)?

Waking up to the news on Monday about Compass buying Anywhere (Century 21, Coldwell Banker, ERA, BH&G, Sotheby’s International Realty, and Corcoran) definitely was not on my bingo card. Rumors had been swirling around a possible Berkshire Hathaway Home Services (BHHS) acquisition, but there was no mention of Anywhere in the rumor mill. Kudos to everyone for keeping their mouth shut, but when something like this involves two publicly held companies, there is a lot at risk. 

I am still processing the news, but I have a lot of thoughts on it. And these are just my opinions, based solely on my experience in this industry and with both companies, as well as observing a significant amount of M&A activity over the years. Let’s break it down.

Regulatory approvals.

This closing is not slated to take place until the second half of 2026, so a lot could happen in that window of time. The shareholders shouldn’t be a problem, but Compass stock did tick down on Monday (as expected), and Anywhere’s went up.

There could be some government concern related to Antitrust. Since Anywhere is made up primarily of franchise entities, there shouldn’t be any problem there. That is the beauty of independently owned and operated franchises. The challenges may come with Coldwell Banker Realty, as it is the company-owned arm of Anywhere. With Compass, @Properties, and CB Realty all being owned by one entity, it could raise some red flags. They might consider selling off CB Realty to independent owners to transition it into franchise status, thereby removing that roadblock.

There are about 3 million licensed people in the US. About 1.5 million are Realtors and members of the National Association of Realtors (NAR). This new entity will be about 340,000 agents strong. So, effectively, about 23% of all Realtors will be associated with a single parent company. The saving grace for this acquisition is that 80% of the Anywhere agents work for independently owned franchise operations, not the company-owned entity.

Culture clash.

I have worked for both of these entities—one for 21 years and one for six weeks. Six weeks may not sound like a long time, but I was able to grasp the culture quickly. These are very, very different cultures and philosophies. Unless the top brass is bounced out at Anywhere, there is sure to be ideological friction. I will leave it at that.

Agent reaction.

The real test will be the agents' long-term reactions. Do they see it as a win for them? Because Compass’s competition and tactics have been perceived as unfair by some brokers and agents, many have vowed never to work for Compass. I’ve experienced that firsthand. I worked for Pacific Union International, and when they were acquired by Compass in 2018, the PUI leadership had spent a significant amount of time dissing Compass…but money talks. PUI lost very few agents. I am sure there is a lot of money baked in for agent retention. They won’t be changing the brokerage's names, so that the agents may feel little to no negative impact on their day-to-day operations. But agents may have less negotiating power when it comes to their splits and pay structure if they establish certain thresholds for the company-owned offices. I don’t expect a lot of agent attrition as Compass is a very agent-centric company, and they will roll out the red carpet.

Private listings.

Compass is known to be a very agent-centric company. They portray that image to their own benefit, as evidenced by their vehement stance regarding the private listing battle against the Clear Cooperation Policy governed by NAR, which is being played out very publicly in our industry. This is a direct challenge to MLS policies, NAR and Zillow. Compass claims that a seller's choice to keep their listing off-market is about providing the consumer with choice, but everyone knows it is about them controlling the listing inventory without the annoying competition of co-op brokers. This allows them to sell their listings in-house prior to putting them out for the open market to do its thing. Clear cooperation has proven statistically to yield more money for sellers. If a seller wants to opt out of putting their property in the MLS currently under the Clear Cooperation Policy, they may do so.

Anywhere has taken the stance against private listings but has lately started to soften its narrative on it. Makes sense now. Anywhere is perceived as a more consumer-centric company. That is primarily because the franchise owners live and work in their communities. They do what is best for the consumer, which ultimately benefits their agents and the community. I’m not saying they aren’t focused on their agents; they are. And have had to be much more in recent years due to the recruiting madness from Compass and the big checks written to lure over talent.

Then there's the debt and the market.

It’s a ballsy time to be making a play like this. The market is a bit wobbly right now, with specific markets starting to see prices decline and increased inventory. If interest rates continue to drop, it could encourage more buyers to enter the market, but this may weaken sellers' positions due to increased competition. There are a lot of unknowns.

And then there's the debt. Ever since I can remember, Anywhere (previously known as Realogy, HFS, etc.) has been burdened with a mountain of debt. If I am not mistaken, last year was the first year that Compass actually turned a profit. Not a great start to a marriage.

PROS AND CONS.

Pros for Anywhere:

Technology. I worked there for a long time. They have consistently struggled to stay ahead of the technology curve. They have attempted to develop it internally but are unwilling to commit the massive resources required to create and maintain proprietary technology. They also have adoption issues. The agents are independent contractors, and if they don’t see the value in using in-house tech, they seek outside resources they feel are less invasive.

Capital infusion. Not sure how they do it, but the money seems to always be flowing at Compass.

Pros for Compass:

Integrated services. The escrow, title, and mortgage are big deals and are big money makers. They also have many partnerships with peripheral services and providers that are tried and true. As margins shrink on the brokerage side, it is more important than ever to create a holistic consumer experience, ensuring there is money to be made on all elements of the homebuying and selling experience.

Coverage. Anywhere is a worldwide organization and is also located in many small markets via the franchise network. This gives Compass a global footprint overnight.

Steady cash flow. That is the beauty of franchises. The money just flows in with very little effort on the franchisor's part (as long as the market holds up).

Lead management and relocation. Compass was unwilling to commit the resources to build a robust company-generated business group (trust me, I know). Anywhere has that business dialed in. The infrastructure and the staff who run it are solid. They also have the @Properities group, which boasts one of the best departments in the country.

Listing dominance. With the vast market share they will now possess, if they succeed with pushing all of their listings into exclusivity without cooperation via the MLS, they can basically shut out other brokers from ever having a chance at their listing inventory.

Pros for other brokers:

Pull back the curtain. It will be essential for brokers outside of this behemoth to educate the public about how all these brands are part of a single company. Even though they will make a show of saying all brands are managed separately, there is still one man at the top pulling all the strings.

Lack of cohesive culture. Compass claims to have a strong culture, and having a single person that people can identify with at the top is a huge plus. That is what has been missing at Anywhere for years. No one that people could align with, as it has been a revolving door of leaders who did not come from the real estate industry. Having local leadership is the key to creating authentic partnerships. Local brokers are deeply immersed in their market, which is a huge selling tool. What does a company running out of New York know about your market?

Business development. Now is the time to amp up your local business development for relocation, online leads, and affinity programs. Your local expertise is your superpower. You know the market and the players. Take advantage of it by creating localized programs that address the specific challenges of those entities in a customized manner. Let me know how I can help you create programs and services that increase market share, transactions, and revenue. The more business you control, the more it helps with recruiting and retention of your agent population. And it improves your margins and ROI.

Cons for Anywhere:

Staffing. It could mean a lot of people are out. But I suspect they will take good care of them with solid packages.

Loss of franchisees. Some franchise owners may decide that they no longer want to be affiliated with the brand that has caused so much damage through their aggressive recruiting efforts over the years.

Relocation and leads. The business generated from Cartus and Anywhere Leads will now be spread very thin. This could push some franchisees to reevaluate what they really get from that investment. Compass may decide to invest in those business lines to boost its business development and return Cartus to its original glory. Or they could sell off Cartus and work up a partnership to retain the referral activity with the new owner.

Cons for Compass:

Self-competition. Anywhere already competes with itself in all major and medium markets. It can be tricky to manage agents who compete with their sister companies. Their recruiting efforts will need to be targeted elsewhere now, as they will prohibit cannibalizing sister brands.

Aging agent population. Anywhere has an age problem with its agents. While they are experienced and successful, I would venture a guess that the average age of agents is higher than that of those in Compass and @Properties. And maybe Compass doesn’t care about that. They will ride the wave of these agents until they retire, replacing them with more tech-savvy and younger agents.

Controlled broker-to-broker referrals. The Anywhere Leads Network (ALN) broker network mandates that agents’ broker-to-broker referrals be routed through the referral network in order to receive relocation and affinity business. Mandating and it actually happening are two different things. The franchise brokers are given annual goals to achieve. ALN takes a substantial cut of the referral fee. The Compass agents are accustomed to referring directly to other Compass agents and determining their own referral fee amounts. This will be hard to rein in. As we know, getting independent contractors to do what we want them to do is like herding cats. We’ll have to see how hard they push that initiative; it could mean a lot of money for ALN.

Cons for all of the other brokers:

Listings. Compass is on a mission to tie up all of the listing inventory to its advantage. If they succeed in having first crack at selling all of their ‘exclusive’ listings in-house without publicizing them to other brokers or to the public, it could cripple other brokers. The jury is still out on how this will play out. Compass has been very effective at convincing consumers that it is in their best interest not to put their listing on the open market. Unless you are rich and/or famous, it is shocking that people agree to it. A Bright MLS / Drexel University study (Mid-Atlantic region) covering 2019 to Q1 2023 found that homes listed on the MLS sold for about 17.5% more than comparable homes sold without being listed on the MLS. Some say it is as high as 25% in some markets.

Market dominance. The market dominance is undeniable in certain areas. It will be harder to compete with their robust tech and marketing efforts.

Recruiting. Be prepared to have their sites trained on your agents, where they may have overlooked them in the past.

Missed referrals. If you are a broker in a non-Compass market and received broker-to-broker referrals from them, that will likely stop, as they will be encouraged to keep it in the family by referring to Anywhere brands.

The biggest con is for the consumer.

Monopolies aren’t typically good for anyone but the monopoly. Even now, most consumers are unaware that the same company owns all the Anywhere brands. They are careful to keep the appropriate back-end management separate, but you had better believe the financials all roll up to one shareholder report.

One entity controlling the bulk of the listing inventory can lead to unfair and discriminatory practices by prohibiting access to properties for sale to certain people who are not represented by that company.

Finally, what does this mean for relocation?

It is difficult to say, but it is known that Compass has not invested in creating or growing a robust national relocation department, despite its agents expressing interest in having those business lines. They have allowed some Relocation Directors to stay on in brokerages that were acquired, but have laid off most who were part of an acquisition or they left on their own due to a lack of support. I think the @Properties acquisition opened their eyes to the financial possibilities.

As someone who was part of one of their acquisitions and was told they wanted to grow a national department in 2018, only to be laid off six weeks later, citing that they didn’t really understand it and didn’t want to invest in it, I don’t think much has changed. I often wonder if I had been given the resources and support to grow a national department in 2018, how many millions they would be making today. Buying an existing entity is a solid play to jump-start the business as long as they will allocate the resources towards maintaining the staffing and growing the opportunities.

Since no national department was ever established, many Compass agents, branches, and regions have attempted to capture business directly, which has created some problems when they try to handle RMC referrals due to their limited experience in serving this type of business.

Another challenge is that they will want to give a fair share of the Anywhere lead and referral business to Compass agents who are mostly untrained in relocation. Some have come from brokerages that had relocation departments, but it may have been a while since they handled this business, which, as we know, is rapidly changing. So they will need to tackle a massive training and relocation team development initiative.

Grab the popcorn.

I could go on and on, but I would like to sit back and watch this play out in real time. We will see how well they can play together to achieve what each of them is seeking from this marriage. Overall, I think they each bring something to the table that benefits them. Whether it benefits the consumer and the sources of business will play out over time.

The real question becomes who will lead this national relocation and company-generated business initiative? I have my own ideas. Time will tell.

Do you agree or disagree with my opinions? Let me hear from you.

If you would like to read the press release to see how the deal will be structured, here it is: Compass Announces Combination with Anywhere Real Estate in All-Stock Transaction