A for sale sign is displayed in front of a single family home, on July 17, 2025, in Derry, N.H. Charles Krupa/AP hide caption
A proposed $1.6 billion merger would unite the nation’s two largest real estate behemoths, Compass and Anywhere, combining Compass’s regional brokerages with Anywhere’s nationally recognized brands, including Century 21 and Coldwell Banker. However, some industry observers caution that the consolidation may increase pressure on mom-and-pop brokerages.
The deal , announced last week, is between Madison, N.J.-based Anywhere Real Estate and New York-based Compass, the largest U.S. residential real estate brokerage by sales volume. The combined brokerage company is expected to be worth $10 billion. It would create a combined 340,000-agent network at a time when the housing market is softening. The market has seen a decline in existing home sales, limited inventory, higher home prices and mortgage rates that remain stubbornly high following historic pandemic-era lows.
The merger is expected to go forward pending approval from shareholders and regulators.
Compass CEO and founder Robert Reffkin hailed the merger in a statement as a melding of resources that would preserve the independence of Anywhere’s leading brands while creating “a place where real estate professionals can thrive for decades to come.”
“We have a unique opportunity to utilize the incredible breadth of talent across our companies, especially our world-class agents and franchisees, to deliver even more value to home buyers and home sellers across every phase of the home buying and home selling experience,” Anywhere CEO & President Ryan Schneider said in a statement about the deal.
NPR reached out to Compass and Anywhere for comment, but did not receive a reply before publication.
Tomasz Piskorski, a real estate professor at Columbia Business School, says it’s too early to say for sure how the move will play out for consumers.
“On one hand, bigger firms can wield monopoly power, limiting transparency and raising the risk of monopolistic practices,” he says. “On the other, scale brings efficiencies — technology adoption, cost savings, and potentially lower fees — that can benefit consumers.”
The merger is expected to take place in the second half of 2026.
In recent years, the U.S. real estate brokerage industry has seen a reduction in the number of players, with larger firms gaining market share through mergers and acquisitions, significantly expanding the reach of the combined brokerages. In 2024, the three largest brokerages — Compass, Anywhere and eXp Realty — accounted for 17% of total sales volume , and the top 10% of brokerages represented 42% . The mergers have also helped drive a consolidation of Multiple Listing Services, or MLSs, which allow brokerages to share information on properties they have listed for sale.
In March, Rocket Companies, the parent of Rocket Mortgage — the online mortgage lender and refinancing portal — announced it was acquiring real estate listing company Redfin . Weeks later, it agreed to buy out Mr. Cooper , a mortgage industry competitor.
Despite the trend toward fewer, larger, firms, Piskorski and others point out that the newly merged Compass/Anywhere combo would control less than a 20% share of the market, leaving several large and well-known competitors, such as eXp Realty, RE/MAX, investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and Redfin.
Peng (Peter) Liu, a professor of real estate and finance at Cornell University, says large brokerages offer wider reach for sellers, stronger customer databases, advanced technology and access to more potential buyers. He acknowledges concerns over market power, but believes they are overstated. “Both consumers and agents can switch firms readily, with