America’s two largest brokerages are merging: Compass will have 340,000 real estate agents once the Anywhere deal closes

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Compass to acquire Anywhere Real Estate in $1.6B deal

Compass, America’s largest residential brokerage by sales volume, is making its boldest move yet. On Monday, Compass announced it will acquire Anywhere Real Estate, the second largest residential brokerage, for $1.6 billion. The combined company will have some 340,000 real estate professionals worldwide and represent over 1.2 million home transactions annually.

It’s the biggest brokerage consolidation in U.S. history, bringing Anywhere Real Estate’s brands like Coldwell Banker, Century 21, Sotheby’s International Realty, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, and Corcoran under the same roof as Compass’ tech-driven platform. Compass says the merger will diversify its revenue with Anywhere’s sprawling franchise, relocation, and title and escrow businesses, while unlocking $225 million in cost synergies. Pending shareholder and regulatory approvals, the deal is expected to close in the second half of 2026.

For Compass, the transaction is likely as much about leverage as it is about scale. The company has long positioned itself as a tech-enabled alternative to traditional brokerages, pouring resources into digital marketing, back-office software, and its network of “Private Exclusives”—off-market listings shared only within Compass’s network, allowing sellers to quietly test pricing and attract serious buyers without (or before) going public. Acquiring Anywhere Real Estate also gives Compass national brand diversity and global reach.

A showdown with Zillow

In April 2025, Zillow updated its listing standards, banning properties from appearing on its platform if they had been marketed privately for more than 24 hours before hitting the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). The policy was aimed directly at Compass, which has leaned heavily into “Private Exclusives” that circulate inside its agent network before going public. Zillow argued the policy was about fairness for buyers: “If a listing is online, it should be online everywhere.”

In June 2025, Compass filed suit against Zillow, claiming the home-search giant conspired to suppress competition and protect its dominance by banning private listings from later appearing on its platform.

The Compass deal announced today could be another strike at Zillow: By acquiring the Anywhere Real Estate’s brands, Compass could gain the scale and leverage needed to fortify its private listings ecosystem and push past Zillow’s resistance.

The MLS under threat

The merger doesn’t just challenge Zillow. It could also weaken the traditional role of the MLS, which has long functioned as the industry’s “single source of truth” for listings. If Compass-Anywhere normalizes off-MLS inventory at scale, it could accelerate the industry’s fragmentation. For sellers, that might mean more control over how and where homes are marketed. For buyers, it could mean a more fractured search experience—with fewer guarantees that Zillow.com or the MLS reflects the near full universe of available properties for sale.

What it means for the housing market

The deal comes at a turbulent time for housing: existing home sales are at their lowest level since 1995, affordability is stretched, broker margins are under pressure, and the market is still adjusting to the post-NAR 2024 settlement era. By merging, Compass and Anywhere are betting that size, diversification, and technology can deliver efficiencies in a margin-squeezed environment. But the competitive dynamics may prove more consequential than the balance sheet. If Compass successfully integrates Anywhere, it won’t just be the largest brokerage in America. It could be another counterweight to Zillow’s consumer-facing dominance—and perhaps reshape the MLS itself. That’s why this merger isn’t just about creating a bigger company. It could be about rewriting the rules of how homes get marketed, how buyers find them, and who really controls the flow of housing inventory in the U.S.

Have any thoughts on this acquisition? Disagree with any of my takes on it? Email me: [email protected]

Where home buyers—and home sellers—have the most power right now, according to Zillow’s updated analysis released in September

Zillow economists use an economic model known as the Zillow Market Heat Index to gauge the competitiveness of housing markets across the country. 

This model looks at key indicators—including home price changes, inventory levels, and days on market—to generate a score showing whether a market favors sellers or buyers. 

Higher scores point to hotter, seller-friendly metro housing markets. Lower scores signal cooler markets where buyers hold more negotiating power.

According to Zillow: 

• Score of 70 or above = strong sellers market

• Score from 55 to 69 = sellers market

• Score from 44 to 55 = neutral market

• Score from 28 to 44 = buyers market

• Score of 27 or below = strong buyers market

Nationally, Zillow rates the U.S. housing market at 52 in its August 2025 reading, published this month.

That said, Zillow’s reading varies significantly across the county.

Click here to view an interactive version of the map below

Among the 250 largest metro area housing markets, these 20 are the HOTTEST markets, where sellers have the most power:

1. Rochester, NY → 153 

2. Buffalo, NY → 107 

3. Hartford, CT → 90 

4. Syracuse, NY → 90 

5. Albany, NY → 82 

6. Charleston, WV → 81 

7. Poughkeepsie, NY → 80 

8. San Francisco, CA → 79 

9. Norwich, CT → 79 

10. Binghamton, NY → 76 

11. New York, NY → 74 

12. San Jose, CA → 74 

13. Bridgeport, CT  → 74 

14. Springfield, MA → 73 

15. Canton, OH → 73 

16. Kingston, NY → 73 

17. Providence, RI → 72 

18. Lansing, MI → 71 

19. Manchester, NH → 71 

20. Boston, MA → 70

Among the 250 largest metro area housing markets, these 20 are the COLDEST markets, where buyers have the most power:

1. Jackson, TN → 8 

2. Terre Haute, IN → 10 

3. Macon, GA → 20 

4. Lafayette, IN → 21 

5. Florence, SC → 22 

6. Gulfport, MS → 25 

7. Longview, TX → 27 

8. Beaumont, TX → 29 

9. Brownsville, TX → 30 

10. Naples, FL → 30 

11. Lubbock, TX → 30 

12. Asheville, NC → 31 

13. Waco, TX → 31 

14. Daphne, AL → 31 

15. Panama City, FL → 31 

16. Hickory, NC → 32 

17. Bowling Green, KY → 33 

18. Gainesville, FL → 34 

19. Punta Gorda, FL → 34 

20. McAllen, TX → 35

Do I agree with Zillow’s assessment?

Directionally, I believe Zillow has correctly identified many regional housing markets where buyers have gained the most power—particularly around the Gulf—as well as markets where sellers have maintained (relatively speaking) somewhat of a grip, including large portions of the Northeast and Midwest.

Based on my personal housing analysis, I consider Southwest Florida the weakest/softest chunk of the U.S. housing market. Not too far behind are pockets of Texas, Colorado, and Arizona markets—which have also seen a bigger build-up in resale inventory and unsold new-build spec inventory.

In my view, many West Coast markets are softer right now than Zillow’s analysis suggests—in particular the areas that have recently seen big jumps in active inventory for sale. 

What did this Zillow analysis look like back in spring 2021 during the Pandemic Housing Boom? Below is Zillow’s August 2021 reading—published in September 2021.