In Inman Exclusive, Taylor Anderson examines thousands of internal documents to uncover the legal strategies on both sides of the Compass-Zillow dispute.
Last week, all eyes were on brokerage firm Compass as it completed a major merger with Anywhere. But beyond that sweeping change lies a legal battle with Zillow over its private listing.
Last week, Inman’s Taylor Anderson pored over a trove of documents submitted as part of the discovery process in the ongoing battle. There, he revealed the goals and concerns behind the legal strategies of both real estate giants.
The documents that Inman staff began reviewing after they became available through the court filing system included depositions, internal messages, strategy documents, and documents that provided insight into Zillow’s tactics, including its efforts to stay listed as a source of revenue.
“Going public is the lifeblood of our company. Without it, we have no eyeballs and no sales,” Errol Samuelson, Zillow’s chief industrial development officer, said in a message.
The documents also reveal the names of industry players Zillow hired to win the messaging wars, as well as those it deemed unlikely to support Zillow’s views.
Compass’ drop focused on brokers’ attempts to push back against what it considers “organized real estate,” including the National Association of Realtors, multiple listing services, and Zillow. Compass pointed out that these groups are trying to control how real estate agents operate their businesses, and the only way to avoid that is to grow.
“If we have twice the market share in every market, you can’t bully us anymore,” CEO Robert Refkin said on a May 13 call with Compass sales executives and brokers of record, foreshadowing the thinking that would eventually lead to the Compass-Anywhere merger.
Now that the Compass and Anywhere merger is complete (see below), Compass’ reach and influence in the industry will only continue to grow. Learn more about all things compass, portals, and more with articles from both contributors and staff writers.
The deal is done: Compass and Anywhere have officially merged
Less than four months after the two real estate giants announced plans to merge, the companies closed a $1.6 billion deal on Friday, raising questions about the industry’s M&A race.
IDX reform is a real battle that no one wants
Josh Ries looks at why systems are designed to help agents quietly hand over control to third-party portals, and how they can take that control back.
CoStar plans to reduce spending on Homes.com through 2030
CoStar announced Wednesday it will cut spending on Homes.com by 35 percent this year, after investing heavily to create a fourth major competing real estate search portal.
The Download is a column where Inman’s Christy Murdock takes a deep dive into last week’s most read articles to give you what you need to face Monday head-on.
Email Christy Murdock
