Following the groundbreaking announcement that Compass is acquiring Anywhere Real Estate, both companies are proclaiming “business as usual” while the industry digest the major deal.
Compass Founder and CEO Robert Reffkin shared several remarks in company email communications following the announcement, primarily noting that nothing will be changing when it comes to the two brands.
“I want to make it clear that each company will continue to operate separately and independently, and maintain its own distinctive brands, platforms and cultures,” he wrote.
In communications to Anywhere Real Estate’s several brands, President and CEO Ryan Schneider noted that “the agreement includes the commitment to preserve our brands, recognizing the strong presence that they have in the market for agents, franchisees and consumers alike.”
Schneider also emphasized that the deal “will in no way affect or diminish the level of service and support” that the agents and brokers across Anywhere’s various brands have come to expect.
Reffkin noted that the acquisition will expand Compass’ reach to “~120 countries and territories, broaden our integrated services offerings and enhance our ability to offer consumers choice.” He said he is proud of what Compass has been able to build in the last 13 years, and still believes “the potential for the company is greater than we can imagine.”
The industry’s reaction to the deal has been varied. In a podcast following the announcement, NextHome Co-CEO James Dwiggins ruminated on the deal with his Co-CEO Keith Robinson.
“It’s not a secret that the business model, the comp model, the split model or the way Anywhere was operating has been and has felt massive pressure by entrants into the space that are doing capping models or the flat-fee models,” he said. “And so Compass and Anywhere are both operating off of what would be argued as a business model that is questionable on how long that will thrive in a space.”
Both Dwiggins and Robinson noted that Compass’s controversies, specifically pertaining to agents’ and brokers’ opinions surrounding private and exclusive listings could be a slight complication in the deal.
“A lot of people said a lot of things on social media, a lot of people upset, frustrated, mad about the whole private listing, private exclusive thing. Well, some of those people are now in the process of becoming a Compass company,” said Robinson. “My intuition is people say a lot of things on social media, but when it comes to taking action, there will be fewer, but it won’t be zero. And so just seeing how that plays out over time, that is a number.”
There is also the issue of the lawsuit and conflict with Zillow over private listings, and if Compass will be folding Anywhere’s brands into its private listing network. Robinson said that “if the deal comes together and if the lawsuit ends now Compass plus Anywhere goes private exclusive, that will be an issue.”
“I mean of course agents are going to have a difficult decision to make, but most of them are in the business of selling houses. This is some ‘Game of Thrones’ stuff,” he continued. “Sure, the kings and the queens are going to go to war, but I’m just the guy trying to sell fish in the market. I don’t really care who sits on the throne. I want to do what I do. So there will be pressure for agents, but there’s so many dominoes that have to fall.”
One thing Dwiggins, Robinson and many across the industry agree on is that this deal will cause a shift.
“I do think this creates an arms race,” said Dwiggins. “I do think we’ll talk about Zillow in this conversation as well. I do think every single board of directors of every single major real estate company is having or had a meeting this morning to talk about what this looks like and what this means for the future of their companies and the space.”
The Compass/Anywhere deal is expected to close in the second half of 2026, according to the companies.
