The first symptom so far is that publicists, agents and executives in New York City are using the acquisition as a starting point to explain their next steps.
Earlier this week, the companies announced that the proposed $1.6 billion acquisition had exceeded the waiting period for an antitrust review and would likely close on Friday, even though the companies initially said the deal would likely not close until late 2026. Shareholders voted to approve the merger on Wednesday.
The next morning, an email from a publicist landed in my inbox, highlighting the split of one of Compass’ top teams in Bergen County, New Jersey, a move she characterized as “particularly notable given the timing of the $1.6 billion merger” and the status of her client, Max Stokes, as a founding member of the brokerage’s Ridgewood outpost.
“If there was something I wanted to do, this would be the perfect time to do it,” says Stokes, who is not leaving Compass but is breaking away from partner Megan Fox to launch his own “small and mighty” team. He called the merger a “tipping point” and said Compass getting bigger was a “great thing” even as he wants to downsize its operations.
Still, some cite the acquisition as one of the reasons for their departure from Compass. On Wednesday, just before news of the deal’s closing broke, an agent from New York City and Westchester sent an email announcing her move to Brown Harris Stevens, writing that “the Anywhere Brand acquisition along with the Zillow Lawsuit news took attention and resources away from agents.”
Compass and Anywhere announced their agreement to merge in September, sending shockwaves through the industry, which was still reeling from Compass’ previous $444 million acquisition of @properties and Christie’s International Real Estate.
The proposed deal stipulated that Compass CEO Robert Reffkin would lead the merged companies and that brands would continue to operate independently. On Friday, Reffkin and executives from Anywhere’s subsidiaries, including Corcoran Group CEO Pam Liebman, presented a united front and posted an image featuring all the brands’ logos with the slogan “Better Together” on social media.
The news raised questions about how the household names would operate under one roof and whether agents in Anywhere’s network would remain with their companies under the Compass umbrella. Since then, many independent brokers, especially in New York City, have touted the deal as a boon to their businesses.
“Bigger is not always better,” said Bess Freedman, CEO of Brown Harris Stevens The real deal in September. “Not everyone wants a big company.”
But it’s still too early to say whether that pitch will succeed. In November Zillow published a report It shows that about half of Anywhere agents surveyed by the platform said they would consider leaving if the takeover reaches the finish line.
Upon closer inspection, however, the results weren’t particularly revealing: They included responses from just 122 agents in Anywhere’s network of 300,000 agents, according to a Zillow spokesperson, who also said he did not have the firms the agents were responding to.
The data we have shows that the ebb and flow of top producers among existing companies is alive and well. including one of Douglas Elliman’s leading brokers in Brooklyn, Lindsay Barton Barrett, who brought her team to the brokerage on Tuesday. Last month, Heather Domi, a New York City and South Florida agent and co-founder of New York Residential Agent Continuum, left Compass to join Elliman.
Not so fast…
The new development market in New York City had a mediocre year in 2025.
Buyers signed contracts on 2,750 new construction projects in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, an 11 percent decline from the 2024 total, Marketproof data shows. The company’s CEO, Kael Goodman, attributes the decline to inventory, especially in Manhattan and Brooklyn, failing to keep up with demand – a problem that several new development players expect to continue to plague the market into 2026.
Last year, Manhattan closed 1,400 collected deals last year, for an annual decline of 12 percent, while inventory in the borough fell 13 percent year-over-year. In Brooklyn, the number of signed contracts fell 6 percent to about 1,000, while inventory fell 19 percent.
NYC deal of the week
The most expensive sale to hit the market this week was for a townhouse at 22 East 78th Street, which closed for about $10.5 million. The five-story home, which was sold to an anonymous LLC with a Washington, D.C., address, last traded in 2015 for $12.6 million.
The mansion spans 5,500 square feet and has five bedrooms and six bathrooms. It also features a terrace, landscaped garden, chef’s kitchen and five fireplaces.
Compass’ Oliver Han had the listing.
Read more
The Compass-Anywhere merger avoids antitrust concerns and ensures a quick completion
The Compass, Anywhere merger could be completed this week
Top agent Lindsay Barton Barrett leaves Douglas Elliman for Compass
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