The Compass-Anywhere deal has closed. Now the real work b...

The merger is not just about these two companies, Keith Robinson writes. It is about the shape of the whole real estate industry.

Inman Connect

Invest in yourself, grow your business—real estate’s biggest moment is in San Diego!

Well, it finally happened. Compass and Anywhere made it official and tied the knot. The $1.6 billion all-stock kind of knot, not the backyard wedding with Costco cupcakes. The deal closed Jan. 9, and just like that, we now have a brokerage so big it needs its own weather system.

And before we get into the weeds here, let me say something up front. Whatever anyone thinks about Compass, Anywhere or the whole real estate circus we’re living through, it takes guts to swing for something this big. Congrats to both teams. I respect the ambition. While some people dip a toe into the pool, these folks jumped off the roof.

Compass CEO Robert Reffkin will run the combined ship and has made it clear he wants to merge the whole thing into one modern, streamlined platform. His words, not mine. He’s talking about saving agents time, boosting production and creating what he calls a better experience for everyone involved, which is great. The industry could use a little less chaos and a little more competence.

Big brands, big history, slow mergers

Let’s not pretend this thing gets simple from here. Anywhere is the best example of how long this type of assimilation actually takes. They have been blending brands for decades, including Coldwell Banker, Century 21, Sotheby’s, ERA and Better Homes and Gardens. All those companies came under the same tent over a long timeline with a whole lot of late nights and conference rooms that smelled like burned coffee.

And even today, they are still stitching pieces together, integrating tech, managing culture, cleaning up legacy systems and trying to make the whole machine hum in the same key. It is like trying to combine six orchestras and hoping they play the same song.

Compass is now entering that same phase. Closing the deal is the photograph. Integration is the movie. And this movie is going to take a while. You cannot blend multiple brands, multiple business models and thousands of humans into one organization without time, friction and a few emotional support snacks.

Private listings and the coming turf war

Now here is where it gets spicy. While everyone was celebrating the deal, something else was happening in the background. The industry is heating up around private listing networks. This is not a side story; this is the story.

For years, Compass has pushed the idea that sellers should have more control over how and when their listings hit the world. Sometimes that means their listings show up on Compass platforms before anywhere else. That kind of strategy is either brilliant or controversial, depending on whether you are a consumer, an agent or on Zillow’s board of directors.

Reffkin recently said the new company will build a “premier destination of brokerage-led sites founded on the core principle of your listing, your lead.” That is not a marketing slogan. That is a shot across the bow of the MLS system. If you control the listings, you control the consumer traffic. And if you control the consumer traffic, you get to rewrite the rules.

Anywhere’s CEO Ryan Schneider is not exactly asleep at the wheel either. Last year, he said the company would never be at a competitive disadvantage if private listings gain momentum. Which is CEO speak for “we have the switch already wired in the wall, and we can flip it whenever we feel like it.”

Put a pin in this. We will be talking about it for years.

Where this all might be going

This merger is not just about two companies. It is about the shape of the whole industry. And if you zoom out far enough, real estate is beginning to look a lot like the airline industry.

Airlines used to be wild. Twenty companies, each with its own mess, its own peanuts, and its own tragedies. Over time, they all got squeezed by cost, technology and consumer expectations until four big ones emerged to run most of the show.

Real estate is not there yet, but the pathway looks familiar. A combined Compass-Anywhere is a monster. KW is still huge. eXp keeps cloning new agents in a back closet somewhere. If consolidation keeps accelerating, we could wake up in a world where three or four national giants handle a majority of transactions.

Everyone else will need to merge, specialize or get extremely good at niche markets. Note, this niche market thing is important.

Listings are the new oil

Here is the kicker. This whole consolidation trend makes listings more valuable than ever. Listings have always been the gold standard, but now they are the new oil. If two brokerages controlled 60 percent of the listings in a major metro, where would consumers go first? Exactly. They would go where the inventory lives.

This is why the private listing conversation matters. If controlling listings is the key to controlling consumer attention, then the next big battlefield in real estate is not commissions, portals or lead-gen cost. It is inventory. Whoever holds the listings holds the future.

The industry has said “listers last” since long before social media turned real estate into a content Olympics. And it has always been true. But now it becomes essential. Listing agents do not just have leverage at the kitchen table. They have leverage in the entire market structure.

The companies that consistently win sellers, consistently win market control. It is that simple. Buyers shift. Sellers anchor. In a world where scale matters more every year, anchoring wins.

Room for the local players

And yet, for all the consolidation drama, there is still one thing that does not change. People want someone they trust, someone local. Someone who knows where the good coffee is, why that street gets backed up at 4 p.m., which schools have the best teachers, and which houses have plumbing that sounds like someone is practicing the tuba inside the walls.

National platforms cannot replicate that. They can enhance it, support it and scale it, but they cannot replace it. Independent brokerages that genuinely invest in their communities will always have a seat at the table. They carry something no conglomerate can mass produce. A human connection.

The real story

Yes, the Compass-Anywhere deal is a big swing. Yes, it will shape the industry in ways we are only beginning to understand. But the through line has not changed.

This is still a human business.

This is still a listing-driven business.

This is still a relationship business.

And no matter how many mergers happen, or how many giants rise, consumers will always gravitate toward the person who shows up, listens well and tells the truth.

That part does not consolidate.

Keith Robinson is the Co-CEO of NextHome, Inc. and co-host of Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered. Follow Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered Podcast on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook or TikTok, and subscribe to their YouTube Channel.

Topics: Anywhere | Compass Show Comments Hide Comments Sign up for Inman’s Morning Headlines What you need to know to start your day with all the latest industry developments Sign me up By submitting your email address, you agree to receive marketing emails from Inman. Success! Thank you for subscribing to Morning Headlines. Read Next Keith Robinson book list

6 books that will rewire you in 2026. Add them to your reading list James Dwiggins and Keith Robinson, hosts of the Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered podcast.

James Dwiggins and Keith Robinson, hosts of the Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered podcast.

‘What’s the worst-case scenario for the industry?’ 2 leaders answer ‘ask me anything’ questions

How one of California’s largest brokerages hit 90% retention without chasing headcount

Compass founding broker on how 3-phase marketing works in NYC More in Opinion Compass Anywhere

The Compass-Anywhere deal is done. This Coldwell Banker agent has lingering questions James Dwiggins and Keith Robinson, hosts of the Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered podcast.

‘What’s the worst-case scenario for the industry?’ 2 leaders answer ‘ask me anything’ questions