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- Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden are urging federal antitrust regulators to investigate the $1.6 billion merger of Compass and Anywhere, citing concerns about reduced consumer choice and stifled competition in the real estate brokerage industry.
- Lawmakers warn the merger could increase market concentration, with the top 10 percent of brokers already controlling 42 percent of U.S. sales volume, potentially violating federal antitrust laws.
- Warren and Wyden argue the deal could put pressure on smaller brokers to consolidate or close as mega brokers leverage brand, technology and network advantages to dominate the markets.
- Compass defends the merger as promoting a more open, competitive market, while Anywhere has not commented; Earlier concerns from Democrats about similar deals were not addressed by regulators.
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Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden are asking the DoJ and the FTC to “thoroughly investigate” the pending deal, which they argue would “entrench existing antitrust and price manipulation concerns that have been at the center of the mounting litigation.”
Two prominent Democrats have some serious issues with the proposed $1.6 billion merger of real estate giants Compass and Anywhere, claiming the deal “threatens to stifle consumer choice and fair competition in the industry.”
Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden are asking federal antitrust regulators to “thoroughly investigate” the pending deal, which they say would “entrench existing antitrust and price manipulation concerns that have been central to the mounting litigation.”
Antitrust regulators declined to intervene when Democrats raised similar concerns about mortgage lender Rocket Companies’ takeover of Redfin and Mr. Cooper this year.
A spokesperson for Compass Real Estate said the company “has nothing new to announce” about the deal.
“The only thing we have to say about the deal right away is in the agreement press release “I have announced the combination,” Compass spokesman Devin Daly said in an email. Daly also provided a link to the broker’s position on “homeowner’s choice,” in defense of the company’s position on private listings.
“We are building a more open, competitive marketplace – one that gives homeowners and agents real choice, more transparency and smarter strategies,” Compass CEO Robert Reffkin said on the webpage.
A spokesperson for Anywhere Real Estate declined to comment.
In one Letter dated December 16 To antitrust regulators at the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission, Warren and Wyden said that “major brokers like Compass and Anywhere have grown by acquiring or absorbing smaller regional companies.”
The top 10 percent of brokers already manage 42 percent of U.S. sales volume, Warren and Wyden claim, citing data collected by T3 Sixty.
“Because brokers control access to listings and market data, consolidation in this sector could directly impact what housing consumers see, how much they pay, and who can participate in the market,” Warren and Wyden wrote. “The proposed merger would increase these risks by consolidating enormous market power into a single entity.”
If the merger goes through, Democratic lawmakers argue it could increase market concentration — potentially violating federal antitrust laws — leading to “anticompetitive harm.”
“The merger would put enormous pressure on mom-and-pop and independent brokers, who play a critical role in serving local communities and offering lower-cost, consumer-friendly alternatives,” Warren and Wyden claimed.
“As consolidation reshapes the industry, smaller, independent companies are faced with an impossible choice: merge into national networks or close their doors, not because of inefficiency, but because they cannot compete with the branding, technology, capacity and network effects of mega-brokers,” they warned.
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