Could Compass’s Acquisition of Anywhere Real Estate Be… in Jeopardy?

The real estate world quaked a few short weeks ago when Compass, Inc. completed a $1.6 billion all-stock acquisition of Anywhere Real Estate Inc. — that’s the owner of major real estate brands like Coldwell Banker, Sotheby’s, Century 21, Corcoran, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, and others. The January 9 acquisition created the world’s largest residential real estate brokerage by sales volume and solidified Compass founder Robert Reffkin’s growth aspirations.

The deal closed on a Friday, and shareholders of both companies overwhelmingly approved the all-stock merger. This puts more than 340,000 agents under one firm’s roof, valued at about $10 billion. It also gives Compass a stronger market share in many major U.S. cities, essentially consolidating the real estate industry.

At the time, some RE observers noted the monumental closing was rather speedy and much earlier than anticipated after the customary regulatory waiting period. Now, some Democratic lawmakers are calling for a review of that merger, among others.

Matt Stoller, Director of Research at the American Economic Liberties Project, who focuses on anti-monopoly policy and corporate concentration, noted the second look in his recent newsletter. The Compass-Anywhere merger, which was expected to wrap up in late 2026 but closed in January, involved some DC appointees’ revolving door departures, HousingWire and the Wall Street Journal reported.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) are urging the Department of Justice to give the transaction a closer look — a query that has a partisan ring, but hints at potential corruption in the DOJ’s approval process. (In fact, Stoller says that Dems are determined to re-examine a LOT of Trump’s M&A’s should Congress return to a Democratic majority after the elections.)

Six Democratic senators, one independent senator, and 12 Democratic House members sent the inquiry to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. In the oversight letter, Warren writes:

Allowing this merger will make it easier for these firms to exert greater control over the real estate market, limit consumer access and choice, and ultimately exacerbate the housing crisis that has put homeownership out of reach for millions of Americans.”

Senator Warren notes that monopolistic conditions “hamstring consumers’ ability to negotiate agent commissions or limit their access to listings through private home listing services,” would be detrimental for consumers and contribute to unaffordability.

“Corruption in this process could exacerbate the current housing crisis, under which foreclosures are up 26 percent and mortgage delinquencies are at a four-year-high,22 while also setting a dangerous precedent that invites political interference in merger review across industries and undermines the antitrust laws that Congress put in place to safeguard competition and protect Americans.

The Justice Department has until March 5 to respond to the oversight letter, setting up what could be the first test of whether the Compass-Anywhere merger will face additional scrutiny.