Compass is an innovative residential real estate firm founded in 2012, using a real estate platform. It is said that Compass is the first broker with a mobile app that links their agents with modern software to improve the potential customer buying experience. As an independent real estate brokerage, they have more than 17.000 agents operating in the most vibrant communities in the United States. The focus lies on high-margin, luxurious homes in urban areas. Compass empowers their agents with software, which makes it easier for the agents to use certain smart tools instead of other controversial methods. These unparalleled agents make it possible to spend more time on advising clients. This combination simplifies the entire real estate process, for example by making it easier to search and sell real estate.
One of the technologies is ‘Compass Collections’, which makes it possible for agents and clients to collaborate in real-time to organize, monitor and discuss the entire process of selling their home. Agents can boost their marketing strategy for their listings by looking at the valuable data points provided by the ‘Compass Insights’ technology. Other technologies are ‘Compass Markets’, providing real-time recent transactions as well as historical transactions and ‘Compass Coming Soon’, which gives the opportunity to pre-market your property. The aim of these technologies is to make real estate agents less expensive and make them better at their jobs, which reshapes the entire industry.
Currently, Compass is not profitable. Due to their huge investments, acquisitions of other real estate brokers and increasing their employee base, they are not capable yet to make enough money to be profitable. As soon as this new real estate technology will break through, Compass will become a bright company with a profitable future.
In the end, bringing together technology and highly skilled real estate agents will distinguish Compass from their competitors. Will they expand even further? Or perhaps even expand to Europe? That will be a mystery for now, but at least I know I will keep an eye on Compass!
References:
https://www.compass.com/about/
https://www.mikedp.com/articles/2019/6/11/inside-compass-part-4-sustainability
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ellenparis/2018/12/29/compass-quickly-dominating-the-luxury-turf/#53be127445b6
Hey Sander, thank you for your interesting contribution. I also believe that Compass has a bright future, because the technologies employed in its business model provide unprecedented opportunities for real estate procedures. However, the real estate industry is also a very traditional industry with large established market players and if their customers are resilient to change, Compass will have difficulties to ever become profitable.