< img src="https://assets.inman.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Untitled-design-13-1024x576.png"alt =""> A new report from the Customer Policy Center discovers that Compass has built commanding market share in several major U.S. housing markets– and is increasingly keeping deals within its own network at rates that outmatch numerous rivals.
The research study, based upon 5,000 current home sales throughout Boston, Washington, D.C., Chicago, San Diego and Austin, uses brand-new details on how that development is playing out. It comes as Compass accelerates its expansion through its January 2026 acquisition of Anyplace Realty, a high-profile partnership with Rocket Business and Redfin, and the recent withdrawal of its antitrust suit versus Zillow.
The freshly formed Compass International Holdings– the combined entity following the Anywhere acquisition, which the CPC describes as the “New Compass”– now holds in between 30 percent and 39.5 percent of system sales throughout all five markets studied. In four of the 5 cities, Compass’s share is at least 4 times larger than the next biggest brokerage, highlighting the extent of its supremacy.
“It’s not simply that they have 30 or 40 percent; it’s that they’re several times larger than the next biggest firm in those markets,” Stephen Brobeck, a senior fellow at the Customer Policy Center and the report’s author, told Inman.
The Chicago figure helps show how rapidly acquisitions can affect regional markets. Compass’ purchase of @properties-Christie’s helped cement its position as the city’s dominant brokerage, a lead that was additional broadened after the Anyplace offer.
Compass CEO Robert Reffkin has actually formerly indicated that the business’s objective is to reach 30 percent market share in 30 markets by 2030, though Compass has not validated a complete list of those markets. The CPC report suggests that these markets consist of a lot of the largest U.S. cities as well as high-income resort locations such as Aspen, the Hamptons and Telluride.
Double-ending comes into focus
Among the report’s main findings is Compass’s high rate of double-ended deals– handle which both the purchaser and seller are represented by agents from the very same brokerage– a vibrant researchers link in part to the business’s three-phase marketing strategy, which begins with “Personal Exclusives” available just to purchasers working with a Compass agent.
The most striking information point comes from Washington, D.C., where Compass’s double-ending rate reached 41 percent. For context, Brobeck informed Inman that when he studied double-ending rates across cities approximately a decade ago, the normal variety was 3 to 12 percent.
However equally notable is what the D.C. data does not show. Of 89 double-ended Compass sales, just one included a single representative representing both buyer and seller. Brobeck stated the information recommends Compass may be motivating representatives to keep deals within the business while preventing dual firm.
“They’re not trying to have one representative handle both sides; they’re attempting to keep the deal within the business and spread business internally,” he said. “They don’t desire someone to hog whatever.”
Internal Compass documents emerged throughout its current lawsuit against Zillow show the business tracked that off-market sales double-end at a rate 72 percent higher than on-market sales, according to prior Inman reporting. Compass has because withdrawn that lawsuit, which had actually looked for to limit Zillow’s efforts to limit personal listings. Compass has previously stated it does not track or encourage double-ending as a goal.
On the report’s findings around high rates of “double-ending” in markets like Chicago and Washington, D.C., a Compass spokesperson told Inman the analysis counts on a partial dataset and does not reflect the complete scope of the business’s company, including that agents are anticipated to act in their customers’ benefits despite who represents the buyer. The company also said its off-MLS listings are broadly accessible, keeping in mind that representatives from any brokerage can see Compass Private Exclusives through its workplaces.
On the recommendation fee program, the representative stated purchaser queries from Compass.com listings have long been directed to noting agents as the specialists who are most familiar with the property, and that the just recently introduced program gives those representatives the alternative to pass result in other Compass representatives while earning a 10 percent cost if an offer closes.
Limited resistance– so far
Brobeck highlighted that Anywhere integration is still in its early stages, recommending double-ending rates across the New Compass footprint might increase significantly over the next numerous years.
The report places Compass’s rise in the context of a weakened regulative environment. The National Association of Realtors, which has been hobbled by leadership scandals and the fallout from commission-related class action lawsuits, has actually largely stepped aside. And the DOJ and FTC have actually shown no indicator of pursuing antitrust action versus Compass’s recent acquisitions or collaborations, while state attorneys general have actually traditionally accepted industry-dominated real estate commissions, Brobeck said.
The only significant institutional pushback came from Zillow, which had actually been pressing back against personal listings– a disagreement that dissolved after Compass dropped its litigation versus the website and Zillow launched its own coming-soon program. The result, the report argues, is a fragmented response: rivals forming their own collaborations, portals changing policies and little in the method of coordinated resistance.
What it implies for customers
For customers navigating markets where Compass dominance is most pronounced, Brobeck recommends talking to multiple representatives before devoting to one, and recommended looking for an experienced associate broker at a well-regarded local company.
“I ‘d never inform anyone not to deal with a Compass representative– there are a lot of very good Compass representatives– however consumers need to think about others. Interview a minimum of a couple of other representatives,” Brobeck stated.
Brobeck stated the current data may reflect an early stage of Compass’ expansion, especially as it works to integrate current acquisitions– a shift that could even more increase internal deals in time.
“How the market will evolve in the future is far from clear,” the report concludes. “It seems certain, though, that Compass’s own priorities and practices will apply a major impact.”
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