News that the proposed merger between Компас и Везде would close На этой неделе came as a surprise to many in the industry, especially those who were anticipating a robust antitrust review of the deal. Several news outlets are reporting that antitrust regulators were blocked from a deeper investigation into the deal by officials higher up in the Justice Department, something that HousingWire has not been able to independently confirm.
Согласно Уолл Стрит Джорнал (WSJ) and Блумберг, antitrust enforcers at the Департамент правосудия (DOJ) wanted to investigate Compass’s recently closed acquisition of Anywhere, but they were blocked by senior officials who wished to green-light the deal. Sources familiar with the situation told both WSJ and Bloomberg that Гейл Слейтер, the head of the DOJ’s antitrust division, wanted to undertake an extended review of the proposed merger for potential anticompetitive effects.
But according to the news outlets, sources said Compass and its lawyers, including Mike Davis, a confidant of President Donald Trump, appealed to her superiors including Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, telling his office that any antitrust concerns could be addressed without a full-scale investigation.
A spokesperson for Blanche’s office told the WSJ that the DOJ “complied with its obligations” to review the deal, noting that even after the deal closes, “nothing precludes the department from taking an enforcement action in the future if anticompetitive effects are found.”
In a response to HousingWire, a spokesperson for the DOJ wrote in an email that the department did not wish to comment on this issue. Blanche has not yet responded to HousingWire’s request for comment.
Antitrust experts told HousingWire the typical antitrust review timeline for a merger of this size can vary. If issues get resolved or nothing comes up during the deal’s Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements (HSR) Act of 1976 waiting period, the deal can move along rather quickly, as Compass and Anywhere’s did. However, if a second document request is brought by antitrust regulators, the process can be prolonged for potentially several months. This perhaps suggests why Compass had initially projected a summer or fall 2026 close date for the acquisition.
When reached by HousingWire, Compass did not wish to comment on the DOJ’s antitrust review of the merger.
Конкурентный или антиконкурентный?
Since announcing the planned merger in mid-September, Compass and its CEO Robert Reffkin have maintained that the deal was not anticompetitive.
В an open letter to Compass agents, affiliate partners and employees posted on Friday, Reffkin, who is also now the CEO and chairman of Compass International Holdings, wrote that the firm believes that “choice and competition fuel innovation, and we will never impose one-size-fits-all mandates.” He also noted that all six of the distinct brands Compass acquired via Anywhere would continue to operate independently.
The reports from the WSJ and Bloomberg come after federal lawmakers, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), had called on the DOJ and the Федеральная торговая комиссия (FTC) to consider blocking the deal. In письмо sent to the federal regulators in December, they argued that the acquisition could harm homebuyers by contributing to higher брокерские сборы и ограничивая доступ к объявлениям о продаже недвижимости.
These concerns came as analyses from both Капитолийский форум и Capstone showed that the combined company’s market share would far exceed the 30% market share threshold established by the DOJ and the FTC in its 2023 Руководящие принципы слияний.
Real estate industry reacts
Within the housing industry, real estate professionals have widely acknowledged that this deal has the potential to make some major waves.
Для Объединенная недвижимость CEO Dan Duffy, the closing of this deal is a “win for the buying and selling public,” because he feels it will accelerate the professionalism in the real estate industry.
“Those that can will become better. Those that can’t will exit the industry,” Duffy said in an emailed statement to HousingWire. “The public will enjoy better, more elegantly and efficiently delivered services from the massive number of options they have when buying or selling homes in the US. We welcome strong competitors. They make us better.”
He added that he believes the current fragmentation and competitive atmosphere within the residential real estate technology and brokerage spaces will remain despite this mega-merger.
In a post on LinkedIn on Friday, congratulating Reffkin on the news, СледующийГлавная co-CEO James Dwiggins said he agrees with the concept that the industry will be transformed by Compass’s acquisition of Anywhere, but he believes that the industry will be engulfed by a massive wave of M&A action.
“You will see other major companies merge and acquire one another to build what I believe will be three or four major companies that control 60-70% of residential real estate in the U.S. It will look like the airline industry (United, Delta, American) and then some smaller players that specialize in local markets,” Dwiggins wrote. “All this M&A will occur over the next 24 months.”
According to Dwiggins, the closure of this transaction is not “game over” but in fact the beginning of “a game of chess among the largest players in residential real estate.”
“There are lots of moves to be made and Compass just made the first,” he wrote. “The next 36 months are going to be incredible to watch!”
Seeing it as a positive
As for smaller agents and brokers, both those now under the umbrella of Compass and those at other firms, they see the deal as a positive.
“As a Коркоран & Anywhere broker, I look forward to this next chapter with Compass. I believe that this will only expand and enhance our service offering while unlocking critical data and insight to best serve our clients,” David Eskander, a New York City-based Corcoran broker, wrote на LinkedIn. “Onwards and upwards!”
Down in Austin, Texas — one of the markets where Compass is now expected to have well over 30% market share — Kinan Beck, a top broker and the team leader of the Эксп Недвижимость brokered One Source Team, views the merger as a chance to home in on building stronger client relationships and better leveraging technology and AI tools, enabling him to provide clients with a more personalized experience.
“At its core, real estate remains a relationship business,” Beck wrote in an email to HousingWire. “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.”
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