Compass
/ based on 29 reviews
- Agent Split: 90% learn more
- Fees: $50 learn more
- (866) 698-98938666989893
- compass.com
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About
Compass is a New York tech-based real estate brokerage. Compass strives to offer newly licensed real estate agents all the tools, resources, and support that will make their dreams a reality. Compass isn’t afraid to define itself as a tech company. And to build their suite of tools, they have hired ex-engineers from tech-giants like Facebook. Their ultimate goal is an all-in-one platform for prospecting, lead generation, touring, closing, social media, etc.
So far, the money raised through venture funding rounds has been used to acquire smaller brokerages, hire employees (engineers, designers, marketers, data scientists, etc.,) and attract top agents through generous signing bonuses.
Compass is profitable in some markets and hopes to expand domestically & globally. It’s on the fast track to dominating the luxury homes market from coast to coast. Compass is also reportedly eyeing an IPO soon and has drawn significant backers like the Softbank Group Corp. It might not offer the training opportunities and brand-recognition sought by new agents today but does come with some level of prestige.
Compass Real Estate History
Compass was started by Ori Allon (now executive chairman) and Robert Reffkin (current CEO) in 2012. Before founding Compass, Ori worked at Twitter as the Director of Engineering and as a Team Member at Google. Reffkin was the Chief of Staff & Chief Operating Officer at Goldman Sachs.
The company’s mission is to “help people find their place in the world.”
Interesting facts about Compass real estate
- The company has consistently grown both in agent count and market share since its founding in 2012.
- It’s still the fastest-growing luxury real estate company and the largest independent brokerage in the U.S.
- The company’s goal in 2020 was to acquire a 20% market share in 20 of its top cities.
- Compass has raised over $1.5 billion in venture funding. In 2018, its revenues were projected to surpass the $1 billion mark with projected revenues of $2 billion in 2019.
- Most of their agents have come from acquisitions of smaller firms.
Values
Compass is changing real estate by providing more value to agents than traditional brokerages. Some of the company’s values include encouraging associates to dream big, operate fast, obsess about finding opportunities, capitalize on their strengths, and collaborate.
Compass real estate technology
Unlike traditional firms that outsource their development work, Compass builds everything in-house. They offer tools that go beyond facilitating transactions, moving, and escrow.
So, what tools does Compass real estate provide?
1) Compass Collections
Dubbed as real estate’s only visual workplace, Collections eases collaborations between clients and agents. Prospects can create collections of properties they like. The app then tracks the properties with real-time alerts on price changes, etc. Clients may invite their spouse or family members to view and comment on their collections. Listing agents get the chance to coordinate viewings easily.
2) Marketing Center
Marketing Center brings the full power of a marketing department with preloaded flyer templates for print, social media ads, and more. Agents can create beautiful marketing materials with a few clicks. You can use the Marketing Center to come up with a list of how to generate real estate leads that will bring in a mix of both seller and buyer leads.
3) Compass CRM
The CRM streamlines how agents interact with clients. It leverages AI to provide agents with insights, for instance, the customer’s likelihood of buying a particular property. Real Estate CRMs are crucial to business, and they can be incredibly useful at any price point (even the free CRMs).
4) Compass Markets
Compass Markets is an iOS app that gives users real-time transaction data and historical trends of up to 5 years.
Compass wants agents to have access to everything in-house, which can have it’s pros and cons. While you will pay for these benefits in your splits and fees, it means you won’t have to worry about buying real estate leads as often as other agents. It also means that you don’t necessarily have to use a real estate website builder to create a beefed up website for you. You can take advantage of what Compass has to offer.
Other top brokerages
FAQs
Compass is consistently growing, though sources close to the company have revealed that it’s not yet profitable as a whole.
Compass draws top agents since it promises flexibility, high-splits, and the chance for agents to build teams, while still providing the resources of big franchise firms.
Some reasons to join Compass include:
- Agent support: Agents will benefit from the company’s technology, affordable healthcare plan, networking events, in-house marketing teams, advertising agents, and more. Compass gives agents access to dozens of real estate software tools, including a successful lead generation website.
- Compass Concierge program: Minor renovations can increase a property’s sales price. But some sellers lack sufficient funding to see such projects through. That’s where Compass comes in, providing direct financial assistance in aspects to do with floor repair, cleaning, carpet replacement, landscaping, etc. About $400 is expected in returns for each $100 invested by Compass in their Concierge program. Homeowners repay the invested amount from the sales proceeds, or if they decide to remove their homes from Compass Listing.
- Compass doesn’t outsource any of its development. They are seeking to bring more tech and data to real estate.
Robert Reffkin. Refkin says he who grew up watching his mother – a real estate agent – switch firms looking for the best value, but never finding it.
Compass doesn’t hire most of its agents organically – instead it has grown very quickly through acquisitions.. Still, you can find job openings for in-house teams on their career pages. They don’t tend to hire newbie agents – in general you need some minimum experience, for instance, at least one year working as a real estate agent and track record of closing deals.
Compass favors the independent model when it comes to commission splits. Some top-producers have negotiated splits as high as 90/10. Compass has been known to make short-term deals at very high commission splits – though the deal often expires after the first year, and is replaced by a more traditional commission split.
Agents report very low fees at Compass vs other brokerages – though we don’t have hard data on what the fees actually are.
About the Author
Chris Heller brings 27 years of experience in real estate. Chris serves on the Agent Advice Editorial Board and is the Chief Real Estate Officer at OJO Labs. Chris brings deep expertise having held influential industry positions including CEO of mellohome and former CEO of Keller Williams Realty International.
Last Updated: 5/20/2024
I like the stream-lined approach to mark...
I like the stream-lined approach to marketing yourself. Also enjoy the up to date, great facilities to work in. I love the team I am with and how inclusive it is here. Love my team and feel more at home here than at BHHS.
They should make the online marketing a bit more user friendly so there are not so many steps to simply post on FM or IM, make video more readily available to post stuff on YouTube.
I worked for Compass in LA. 60/40 splits...
I worked for Compass in LA. 60/40 splits were fine I guess. Looking for a company which has a supportive environment and better training. Compass didn't have any training programs that actually helped me learn what I needed to learn. Ideally there would be better team morale, good mentorship, and solid infrastructure.
The tech is my favorite thing about Comp...
The tech is my favorite thing about Compass! The branding is also good. I like how clean it is. Very much my esthetic as well. My manager is great. I feel like I have the support I need.
I love the tech but it glitches with not uploading all mls data so clients are not receiving all the properties that pop up. There’s nothing worse than a client sending me a property that didn’t show up in their collection. I’ve had clients complain that they don’t like that they have to log in every time. Not sure if that’s been fixed. A cap after a certain amount of sales volume to receive 100% commission would be amazing.
I really like all the tools given to me ...
I really like all the tools given to me for marketing. I like the slick and sophisticated look of all the Compass marketing materials. Whether you are trying to promote a listing, or trying to beef up your presence on social media with postings - Compass makes it easier to do with preproduced content that is local and relevant and very user friendly. Great function and form.
I feel like Compass has really thought of everything in terms of the tools that I need to grow my business. Everything is very user friendly. My only issue is I feel like it is a bit ridiculous to charge me for computer programs. I feel like I am nickel and dimed when I have to pay for things like Adobe and DocuSign. Super minor but leaves a bad taste in my mouth- I feel this should be included.
The company culture is amazing. Everyone...
The company culture is amazing. Everyone is so helpful and nice! Even other agents are happy to collaborate. Brand recognition is huge when bringing in clients as well.
A less open concept office space would be nice. Maybe keep the office space open but still closed off into smaller sections so it feels more private when working. Compass has all the resources you need to effectively run your business. They have a lot of services you don’t even realize until you begin to ask for advice or help from your sales manager.
Love the 6am group. All the agents are w...
Love the 6am group. All the agents are willing to help one another. I also love the marketing group and platform we all have access to.
Finance is a weakness in my opinion for Compass, based off what I have seen with EXP and KW. We need an app/system to show status of CDA once it is submitted. I want to be able to see the breakdown of commission for each file online and also a system that shows the ytd gci for agents which can be accessed at anytime. I have not seen this available to us.
The tools, resources and technology that...
The tools, resources and technology that Compass provides its agents allows us to spend more time serving our clients efficiently. Compass is constantly asking for feedback from agents and adapting accordingly. Compass does an excellent job of providing training and resources for their agents so they can be successful. Compass is a brokerage name that stands for professionalism and they stay one step ahead in the real estate business.
They are high tech and give you a budget...
They are high tech and give you a budget to market yourself. They offered a 6 am club that was awesome. In person was impossible during the covid year. It was hard to master any of the great tools they offer, but was still punished by lowering split and eliminating marketing budget. They moved me to another office electronically without asking and I fell through the cracks as I got no emails from either location.
During Covid I could not get the one on one training I needed. Then, my split was cut and my marketing budget cut due to a lack of performance. I contributed over $5000 to employee participation program - lost every penny. You will spend a lot of money on fundraisers and cut off quickly. They have very low splits.
I feel like they are really focused on t...
I feel like they are really focused on the agent and our performance. Everyone is so nice and helpful and also very friendly. The working environment is top notch and so is the support and sales managers.
The cohesiveness of the website would be something that I would like to see improve. They are working hard on our own compasshou.com site and every week it gets better. I still feel like I waste a lot of time maneuvering through different sites to find things. I am so glad we are having a summer camp coming up every morning to help us learn all that is offered.
I think for older agents we get a little intimidated by the constant rollout of new things. It would be nice to just perfect some of the basics and make them easy to find versus always rolling out new things.
I think Compass provides one of the most agent centric real estate offices in the Houston area. They are constantly working on improving things and making sure that they are available to teach us new things. We have a wonderful team of managers in place and are very knowledgeable and helpful.
The marketing materials, AEMs, and respo...
The marketing materials, AEMs, and responsiveness to requests are all positives. Compass Academy is helpful when you join the brokerage. However, the marketing team is not overly helpful when we try and customize materials. There is a push to have agents manipulate material on our own; this would be fine if we didn’t also have to pay a resource fee.
Compass is full of top producing agents who enjoy collaboration. From that perspective there’s a lot of support. The company looks for ways to constantly improve and stay ahead of the curve and relevant.
Office support staff is very friendly. ...
Office support staff is very friendly. Compass app is useful when it is accurate. Digital tools for marketing have been helpful. I haven’t been with compass long but have enjoyed having the tech tools and the support staff while at compass. Compass app does not always have correct MLS Data. The fees are high for a part time agent that doesn’t sell a lot.
The company culture is fantastic. During...
The company culture is fantastic. During the pandemic, especially, they did an impressive job of using their tech capabilities to keep us brokers well-connected to each other as well as happenings within both our local and national market.
However, the smoke-and-mirrors claims made by others are warranted. They make a lot of promises and wild claims but fail to deliver on most. Some of their tools are excellent but certainly do not live up to the hype -- and not worth the price. Most of the support department managers and other support staff do not appear to have any previous real estate experience or knowledge. This can be frustrating. Some of my Compass colleagues appear to be very happy. For me, however, I've found that the grass is not always greener.
Too slow
I was part of a small team at Compass in Dallas. My sales volume was very low - just over 400k. Things were just too slow, and I left for a larger team that could help me grow, that has plenty of leads.
I like the culture/6am collaboration, ac...
I like the culture/6am collaboration, action plans, ability to make SM squares and email from templates.
They could improve a few things.
1 way understaffed to support agents. Zero help. No floating assistants
2 throw agents to the wolves with no help
3 bad finance management. Slow commission, bad billing and records
4 Skyslope compliance rules image ridiculous and illogical and overly tight and inflexible.
5 marketing teams that wants me to do all the work What is my split paying for?
6 kisting presentation binders don’t work.
7 no SOI farm marketing support
8!slow response when need negotiation / contract help
The agent support is amazing at Compass....
The agent support is amazing at Compass. Responses are always fast and Keith Newman is hands down one of the best Managers I have ever worked with. I love the tools provided to us like Concierge and the marketing materials as well as the ease of marketing. Also working besides the best agents in the business is always enjoyable.
I do wish there was a way to keep our listings. Every time I get a showing request on my listing from agent/brokers who we know buys leads from Zillow it is very frustrating.
Overall I love our Compass family and every time a Compass Agent shows my listings I know they are the best of the best! Compass has an outstanding reputation and I am thankful for the opportunity to work with this amazing group of people!
I like that at Compass the marketing too...
I like that at Compass the marketing tools are typically interesting and appear well designed. Compass search engine appearance is high end.
They could improve on their in person training opportunities on technology. I joined just before quarantine so I’ve been flailing around trying to teach myself. I know there is a video library, but often do not have the time to learn how to navigate that system along with servicing clients. Would be great to have a few classes a week or every 2 weeks to block time for and pop in, get concise instruction and be able to ask questions/get tips on the fly.
I like that the local office is not too big (at least isn’t right now). Not sure if agent count will be capped to preserve that “elite” perception, but enjoy opportunities to collaborate with fine agents.
I liketThe technology and company cultur...
I liketThe technology and company culture at Compass. Top notch tech with support, marketing provided, automated and integrated tools to help us run our biz.
They could improve on the ease in the transaction documents.It’s still difficult to deal with compliance and the action steps are very time consuming.
Compass is the best brokerage I’ve been associated with. Very positive environment.
I was on a team at Compass with just one...
I was on a team at Compass with just one other person. I only did 2 transactions with them. It was so slow - I left for a busier team.
The main reason I left Compass was becau...
The main reason I left Compass was because my partner retired. I did enjoy my time there though. They paid for everything except for E&O. My partner shared my vision for how a team of agents working together can do beautiful things & all share in the success! I ended up finding a new high producing team in the luxury market.
Nobody else has this kind of technology
No firm can beat the technology here. You can be assured that you are ahead no matter where your field carries you through... The company is evolving very rapidly so there is continuous career progression for everybody, and I think that is the best!
My broker is great, and offers many diff...
My broker is great, and offers many different benefits to the agents. Compass overall is known for innovation in real estate. They provide me with all of the tools and resources so I can do my job more efficiently. Commission split is negotiable depending on what you are able to bring in.
Terrific brokerage
We work with Compass real estate and they are terrific! They provide everything I need to succeed as a Realtor.
Incredible
This company is incredible! I am very grateful for the opportunities and leanings this company has given me.
Compass
The quality of the agents is better than other brokerage, but that is largely driven by the amount of money they have spent acqiring talented brokerages. Compass loves to brag about all of the money they have raised from venture capitalists. They are just spending more and more money to get "name brand" agents on board with MASSIVE signing bonuses that won't actually last. They are not running the brokerage like a business - which is going to hurt their prospects in the long run.
Tech Brokerage
Compass is a great place to work at. They're innovative in technology. They help their agents with a lot of support. They have nationwide coverage to make sure clients find it seamless to communicate with us. The financial part of this is really good, this is a very good place to work at.
Compass Real Estate in Dallas
They're incredible. Progress at work may be stagnant but if you are patient and will work hard, it will come to you. Commission is good!
I'm with Compass Real Estate doing real ...
I'm with Compass Real Estate doing real estate sales and I get 100% of my business from my sphere of influence. There is no lead generation on their end. After all of the mergers/acquisitions, they have become more of a tech company than a real estate company. They are all about their apps and not generating new business for their agents.
Only apply if you have experience, becau...
Only apply if you have experience, because they only hire the best of the best. My broker doesn't hire new agents. Compass leads the rest of the real estate world in technology and vision.
No complaints
No complaints about Compass. They are a great company, everyone respects each other. You can go to the office and dress comfortably. The commission is fair. They have the greatest communication in the business and, I have not experienced anything unlikable in my stay here.