WSJ Article: Real-Estate Giant Compass Under Antitrust Investigation in New York

[Christian Grosskopf]

I've been following the news about Compass and its acquisition of Anywhere Real Estate, and now the New York Attorney General is investigating whether the merger created antitrust issues.

From what I understand, Compass went from around 40,000 agents to over 200,000 after acquiring Anywhere (Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Sotheby's, etc.), making it an even bigger force in the industry. One thing that caught my attention is Compass's push toward private listings within its own network before exposing them to the broader market.

As someone who's just getting into the real estate business and wants to invest long-term, I'm trying to think through the second- and third-order effects of all this.

Some questions I've been kicking around:

• If Compass controls a huge percentage of listings in certain markets, does that ultimately help or hurt consumers?
• Are private exclusives actually giving sellers more flexibility, or are they limiting competition and potentially leaving money on the table?
• If this investigation leads to restrictions or even forces Compass to divest parts of the company, what ripple effects could that have for agents and investors?
• For those of you actively buying investment properties, would more listings staying "in-house" make it harder to find deals, or could it create opportunities outside the MLS?
• If you're an independent brokerage or agent, does a company this large make it harder to compete, or does it create opportunities to differentiate yourself?

I'd love to hear from anyone who's worked at Compass, Anywhere brands, or who has experience in markets where Compass has a significant presence. I'm less interested in the politics and more interested in how this could actually affect deal flow, buyers, sellers, and investors over the next few years.