Two Largest Realty Firms to Merge, Market briefs

In New York and Madison, N.j., The Compass realty brokerage said it will pay $1.6 billion to acquire Anywhere Real Estate, creating a massive real estate giant controlling a global collection of residential brands

Anywhere brands include Coldwell Banker, Century 21, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, Coldwell Banker Commercial, Corcoran, ERA, and Sotheby’s International Realty. The company’s franchise brands have 18,000 offices and over 300,000 independent sales associates working in 119 countries and territories around the world, including nearly 600 company-owned and -operated offices.

In The Madison, New Jersey, based firm is a publicly-traded company formerly known as Realogy Holdings. Shares of Anywhere, which are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol HOUS) rose 46% on Monday, closing at $10.29 per share.

“By bringing together two of the best companies in our industry, while preserving the unique independence of Anywhere’s leading brands, we now have the resources to build a place where real estate professionals can thrive for decades to come,” said Compass CEO & Founder Robert Reffkin. Compass was founded in New York in 2012 and in 2018 it expanded into Houston, where it has a presence in the upscale home market.

The combination of Compass and Anywhere, the two largest residential realty firms, could also lead to changes in the way homes are marketed. Compass has suggested that it might be advantageous for home sellers to make their listings available exclusively to Compass agents first, rather than posting the listings everywhere at the very beginning of the home marketing process.

“We are excited to unite our renowned brands, international footprint, and leading businesses to build a better real estate experience in concert with Compass,” said Anywhere CEO & President Ryan Schneider. “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.”

Compass rose to the top spot on RealTrends’ latest ranking of brokerages with $231.04 billion in sales volume. Anywhere Advisors ranked No. 2 on the list with $183.81 billion in sales volume.

The purchase of Anywhere transaction, expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, will exchange each share of Anywhere common stock for 1.436 shares of Compass Class A common stock.

Sept. 23, 2025