Everything Just Changed: Compass + Anywhere

“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.”

— V.I. Lenin

I missed the news this morning since I am on the West Coast, but my phone started blowing up early. We all know the news by now: Compass is acquiring Anywhere in an all-stock deal valued at $4.2B.

I assume that even people with no understanding of the real estate industry recognize this is a big deal. Most of the headlines I’ve seen have been about how Compass is acquiring big brands like Coldwell Banker and Century 21. Those of us know do understand the real estate industry recognize that Compass acquired far more than that.

To put it in as simple a term as possible, Robert Reffkin just acquired enough power to pose a real challenge to the dominant powers in real estate for a hundred years. Everything in the industry just changed. It may take a few years for the ripple effects to be felt, and for the coming war between the Incumbents and the Rebels to be concluded… but we now have some clarity.

It is still early; details are unknown. The deal is not yet approved—though I don’t see a reason why it wouldn’t be approved. There are some important and interesting details in the actual transaction to consider, and of course, we’ll get into what this means going forward for the industry.

None of this is investment advice or legal advice or any such thing. It is informed speculation for education and entertainment.