Despite initial estimates calling for a summer or even fall 2026 close for the Компас–Везде merger, the two companies have indicated the transaction could close as soon as this Friday.
This news came after shareholders at both firms overwhelmingly voted to approve the merger at special meetings Wednesday afternoon.
Upon the close of the transaction, between owned and franchised operations, Compass will sit at the helm of an organization that is home to roughly 340,000 real estate professionals across the U.S. and in nearly 120 countries. In many metropolitan areas across the U.S., the merger will result in the Compass organization having market share well above 50%, according to анализ из RealTrends проверено data by The Capitol Forum.
HousingWire caught up with brokers and top agents in many of these high market share metros to hear their thoughts on the expedited closing timeline and how they plan to compete with this new brokerage behemoth.
Нью-Йорк
Bess Freedman and her firm Браун Харрис Стивенс are no strangers to competing with both Compass, which is headquartered in New York City, and top Anywhere firms, including Коркоран и Международная недвижимость Сотбис. While Freedman acknowledges all the noise surrounding the merger, she feels the transaction is primarily a challenge for the companies being acquired. It is against this backdrop, which will be focused on integrating the Anywhere brands and agents into the Compass organization, that she feels established and privately held firms like her will be able to shine.
“Instead of offering more of the same, BHS can give agents, buyers, sellers and renters something unique: We are singularly focused on customer service and our only stakeholders are our agents. In NYC, we are the only company that manages nearly 400 buildings and offers a broker specialist program. Real estate is an information and service business, and the synergy between our brokerage and managed buildings is an incredible resource and opportunity for BHS agents and our clients,” Freedman wrote in an email.
Freedman’s confidence in her firm comes despite estimates that post-merger, Compass’s market share in Brooklyn could come in at over 60% and at over 80% in Manhattan. But after a strong 2025, in which Freedman said her firm recruited agents with nearly $20 billion in career sales, she believes 2026 has the potential to be just as strong, regardless of what her competitors are doing.
“We continue to speak with agents from competing firms in many markets who want to differentiate their business with the support of Brown Harris Stevens,” she wrote.
And Brown Harris Stevens is not the only firm in New York City to feel strongly about its growth and recruiting efforts this year.
“With this mass merger, we are experiencing unprecedented inbound interest from agents seeking stability and independence,” a Дуглас Эллиман spokesperson wrote in an email. “More than ever, Douglas Elliman is the world’s premier agent-focused luxury brokerage, truly independent, financially strong and dedicated to empowering agents and their success.”
Бостон
Further North on the East Coast in the Greater Boston area, Chip Stella, one of the broker-owners of Wellesley, Massachusetts-based Недвижимость Ратледж, a roughly 20-agent, single office, luxury focused firm, also feels confident despite now facing the impressive might of a combined Anywhere and Compass.
Stella and his team are leaning heavily into the small, boutique nature of their firm, running an advertising campaign that says Rutledge Properties answers to Main Street, not Wall Street.
“The campaign has been super popular,” Stella said. “I think our consumer base in Greater Boston understands that they are better served by companies that serve Main Street and don’t have to answer to shareholders. Our tagline is ‘Boutique is Better’ and that doesn’t just mean a small firm, it is the type of service we provide consumers.”
Noting that his firm did roughly $300 million in sales volume last year, he feels this message is resonating with consumers, and he believes it will continue fueling his firm’s success in the year ahead.
“As a boutique company we are very agile, we’re on our toes,” he said. “We can serve clients the best way that we see fit and they see fit because we work with them as a team, and that garners better results.”
Stella’s confidence remains strong despite estimates that Compass will have over 60% market share in Boston after the merger.
Looking at the bigger picture, Stella also wonders how the consolidation of so many of his competitors in the Greater Boston area will impact innovation.
“Competition is what spurs innovation. So, with having such a huge market share here, will that really drive innovation for them? And I think the answer is probably no.”
Нэшвилл
The Music City is one metro Capitol Forum’s analysis estimates a combined Compass and Anywhere will have a nearly overwhelming market share at close to 70%.
Phillip Cantrell, the founder of Tennessee-based Benchmark Realty, is well aware of the scale this merger will provide Compass in Nashville, telling HousingWire that he sees the deal in a similar light to the endeavors of historical business magnates like Rockefeller, Carnegie and Gould, as an attempt at market share growth “to capture an old school monopoly in its purest form.”
However, unlike some of the business magnates of the past, Cantrell said he feels that Robert Reffkin is embarking on this endeavor very adroitly, “unlike the bludgeoning methods that predecessors employed in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.”
“I’m convinced [Robert] is well aware of the minefields, yet like me, refuses to cower in fear of challenging existing traditions,” Cantrell wrote in an email. “Some may not like him (and I’m not saying I do or don’t – I definitely have tremendous respect) but even a blind man can recognize and appreciate his intestinal fortitude. It’s taken him a while to find his footing, but I believe he now knows exactly what he’s doing.”
When it comes to competing with a merged Compass-Anywhere, Cantrell doesn’t actually see much of a competition given that, in his view, the two firms run “completely different business models.”
He also noted that Benchmark Realty is no stranger to competing with all of the Anywhere brands, as they have well-established operations in many of the markets his firm serves.
“We grow stronger because we have worthy competitors. That is the singular reason this industry suffers so much — the lack of worthy competitors. If everyone is doing business the same way, no one improves the transaction for the consumer,” he wrote.
“Fundamentally, we are not much into glittery objects here. Some agents like the flash and glamor, and we say, ‘Great, go for it.’ But if you want to be affiliated with a company that is comprised of solid business professionals – meat and potatoes, not necessarily filet mignon at every meal – Benchmark is the place to have the right tools and keep 96% or more of your money.”
He added that his firm recorded a 14% annual increase in transaction side count in 2025, a metric he hopes to continue to see grow in 2026, regardless of what his competitors are doing.
Остин
In Austin, Compass and Anywhere are expected to have a combined market share of over 50%, but even in Техас, Kinan Beck, a top broker and the team leader of the Эксп Недвижимость brokered One Source Team, says, “Bigger isn’t always better.”
“While consolidation can create scale, it doesn’t automatically translate to a better client experience,” Beck wrote in an email.
Beck did acknowledge that his firm, eXp, has over 80,000 agents across nearly 30 countries.
“Size alone isn’t a new concept in our industry,” Beck wrote. “At its core, real estate remains a relationship business. The most successful and experienced agents build trust and long-term relationships before, during and well after the transaction. Those relationships are what ultimately drive repeat business and referrals — not the name on the brokerage sign.”
In Beck’s view, ultimately, when it comes time for a consumer to decide which agent to work with, what matters most is their expertise, communication, negotiation skills and ability to produce results, not what firm they are brokered by.
“I plan to compete by continuing to focus on strong client relationships, leveraging technology and AI tools to enhance, not replace, the client experience, and staying nimble in a market that’s only growing more competitive. With today’s access to sophisticated marketing platforms and software, smaller and independent brokerages can deliver marketing that is just as effective as larger firms,” he said. “The true differentiator is the ability to go above and beyond, delivering extraordinary service and guidance at every stage of the process.”
Сан-Франциско
Over on the West Coast, The Capitol Forum analysis showed that a combined Compass-Anywhere would have a market share of roughly 65%. Like other brokers across the country Shalini Sadda, a broker associate at the Сторона-при посредничестве City Real Estate, believes that she has what it takes to compete with the combined industry colossus.
“When clients are looking to hire an agent, they don’t always want to be working with a big company, they want an agent who is their strongest advocate. They want somebody who has their best interest at all times,” she said. “They want bespoke service that meets their specific needs and not mass-produced marketing. My business has also always been relationship-based and not just about a transaction.”
Sadda said she sees clients as long-term relationships, a fact that is emphasized by her strong repeat client and referral based business. She said this emphasis on local relationships is one of the things that drove her to join a local boutique brand.
“Living in San Francisco, we are really in tune with the market and what is happening locally,” she said. “Our knowledge comes from real-life experience of living and working in the areas we service in.”
She also believes that smaller firms, like City Real Estate, can pivot or adjust to abrupt market changes faster because they don’t have to wait for guidance to come down from a corporate headquarters.
“We are very proactive and always keeping up with trends so that we can inform clients and help them make decisions based on the most recent information and statistics,” she said.
It is this local knowledge and commitment to clients that Sadda and brokers across the country believe will give them the edge over the Compass-Anywhere mega company.
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