Compass’s proposed acquisition of Anywhere Real Estate may give the firm some eyebrow-raising market share levels in certain markets across the country, according to analysis of RealTrends Verified data published by The Capitol Forum earlier this week. This includes more than 80% market share in both Newport Beach, California and Manhattan.
According to the publication’s analysis of RealTrends Verified data, Compass’s proposed acquisition of Anywhere could create market share concentrations “well above presumptively illegal thresholds,” in at least a dozen states.
The analysis is based on the total sales volume of individual agents and brokerage teams in 2024, who submitted their data for the 2025 RealTrends Verified Rankings. Additionally, the analysis focused on regions where more than 100 agents or teams were included in the rankings, and both Anywhere’s owned brokerage and franchise brokerage businesses were included.
In an article about the analysis, The Capitol Forum wrote that it anticipates that Compass and Anywhere will argue that Anywhere’s franchised businesses should not be included in a market share analysis by federal regulators as the franchisees operate them as separate businesses.
After the merger, The Capitol Forum’s analysis showed that Compass would control 30% or more of local brokerage markets across the U.S. from Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles on the West Coast to Boston, parts of New York City and Washington, D.C. on the East Coast. The combined brokerages would have market dominance in markets like Honolulu, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Greenwich, Connecticut, Newport Beach and Los Gatos, California, Denver, St. Louis, Houston and Austin.
The Capitol Forum argues that this 30% market share threshold is imperative because anything above that number is presumptively illegal according to Merger Guidelines published by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2023.
Prior to announcing the proposed merger, Compass CEO Robert Reffkin had widely discussed his firm’s goal of achieving 30% market share in the brokerage’s top-30 cities. The Anywhere acquisition would accelerate this plan in many metro areas.
According to the analysis, a combined Compass and Anywhere would have a market share of roughly:
- Los Angeles: 40%
- Raleigh: 46%
- Houston: More than 50%
- Austin: More than 50%
- Honolulu: 54%
- Seattle: 57%
- Denver: 60%
- Boulder: 60%
- Brooklyn: Over 60%
- Washington D.C.: Over 60%
- Boston: Over 60%
- San Francisco: 64-65%
- Nashville: Close to 70%
- Newport Beach, California: Over 80%
- Manhattan: Over 80%
In addition to the analysis of RealTrends Verified data, the article also quotes Anywhere affiliated agents who express concerns over how the acquisition may drive up agent commissions and also limit the number of brokerage operations in a given market a consumer has to pick from.
Compass has publicly stated that it expects the deal to close during the second half of 2026. The company has maintained that the deal is not anticompetitive.
Earlier this month, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) sent a letter to antitrust officials at the DOJ and FTC asking them to consider blocking the proposed acquisition. In the letter, they argue that the acquisition could harm homebuyers by contributing to higher broker fees and limiting access to property listings.
Compass did not immediately return HousingWire’s request for comment.
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