When Compass announced it would acquire the Anywhere brand and solidify its position as the biggest player in the real estate brokerage industry, some experts and observers expected it would give CEO Robert Refkin more leverage to push for policy changes.
But for at least the first year, longtime Compass distributors and former Anywhere new distributors alike appear to be focused on the details of the transition, the balance between brand autonomy and agency support, and the timely rollout of Compass technology, according to Intel’s analysis.
In the late January survey, Intel submitted 375 written responses to open-ended questions from agency and brokerage leaders both inside and outside the newly combined Compass organization. In this report, all of these responses were considered individually and analyzed as part of a comprehensive Intel text analysis.
These candid thoughts from anonymous agents, brokers, and executives reveal the hopes, fears, and practical needs that are top of mind for real estate professionals in this moment of mass consolidation.
Intel details its findings in a full report.
dividing line between inside and outside
Some of Intel’s questions this month for agents of acquired Anywhere brands were presented in a multiple-choice format, and Intel found that these agents were divided on the topic of private listings in the new corporate structure.
But before arriving at these questions, Intel asked real estate experts inside and outside of the merger for less grounded, and hopefully more representative, thoughts.
So Intel asked the following questions:
“Now that the Compass and Anywhere merger is complete, what are the most important priorities for the newly combined company to adopt in 2026?”
In response to this open-ended question, 375 agents and brokerage leaders offered their opinions on where Compass should go next. Some responses were just a few words. Others were short essay lengths.
Intel journalists read all of these responses individually and noted commonalities and takeaways from the report. Additionally, Intel turned to large-scale language models to do what it does best: find and quantify patterns in text.
Using detailed guidelines and definitions from Intel, the model scored each response on two spectra:
Support or opposition to expanding the use of private listings beyond MLS and Clear Coordination. Focus on agent-centered language and consumer-centered arguments.
Intel then validated each score against the written responses and determined that of the 375 written responses analyzed, only 6 were clearly misclassified, and the remaining 19 may have over- or underestimated where Intel staff may have placed the same responses on the spectrum.
This leaves more than 94 percent of the responses that Intel deems representative in nature, more than enough to paint a useful picture of overall sentiment.
And it’s also clear that no matter how one feels about the real estate industry’s hot issues, Compass agents and brokerage leaders are primarily concerned with the day-to-day details of the transition, details that affect agents more than customers.
“Our top priority…is to retain our top agents by restoring transparency and trust post-merger. This means quickly simplifying systems, clearly communicating compensation and leadership structures, and proving that the merger delivers true agent-first value. The merger will be successful if agents feel safe and supported. If they don’t, nothing else matters.” — Former Agent Anywhere
Agents who have been with Compass for many years and those who recently joined as part of a merger were significantly more likely to use agent-centric language in their responses, primarily pointing to practical business concerns that they expect management to address in the coming year.
And while some former Anywhere agents spontaneously expressed concerns about Compass’ direction in private listings, they were far less likely than outsiders to offer such negative criticism.
In contrast, agency and brokerage leaders not participating in the transaction were much more likely to voluntarily consider Compass’ private listing network and focused on ending its expansion.
Compass merger outsiders were also more likely than any other group to argue their case in terms of what was best for consumers, rather than what was best for the agency or the industry.
“We are retiring our three-tier private listing system and reverting to an MLS system because maximum exposure yields the greatest results for our clients. Client revenue, not Compass revenue, should be our priority.” — Agent not affiliated with Compass
That’s what you see in this graph, with a significant cluster of yellow dots in the top left corner.
daniel houston charts
But perhaps equally telling is how many responses sit in the middle of the graph, indicating that this hot-button issue isn’t mentioned as a top priority for Compass.
number of camps
In addition to scoring answers along these two specific ranges, Intel used language models to classify answers into categories. This classification was again guided and later verified by human journalists.
However, few pre-merger Compass agencies listed expanding their private listing platform as a top priority for their companies in the coming year.
Instead, long-time Compass agents were more likely than other groups to actively pressure leadership to fight Zillow.
And an even greater percentage of agents who were with Compass before the merger expressed urgency to resolve brand identity issues. The issues primarily differ between support for keeping brands separate and support for integrating all brands into a more cohesive culture.
“Brand separation is important to me. I’m proud to be a Compass agent. There’s a reason I’m not a Coldwell Banker agent. They hired me, and I chose to stay with Compass. I love our brand, I love my colleagues…I hope we don’t become a big chunk of the industry.” — Compass agent before the merger
(Compass leadership has promised that the Anywhere brand will maintain its independence and unique identity.)
Meanwhile, the largest group of agencies with acquired brands said they want Compass to prioritize technology integration, and many said they want access to Compass’ platform sooner.
Agents of the acquired brokerages also emphasized the importance of Compass keeping its brand autonomy commitments throughout the transition period, providing appropriate support to agents, and prioritizing financial stability and profitability.
These responses paint a more nuanced picture than previous Intel surveys, separating opinions on less pressing issues from those on more pressing priorities in the minds of agents and leaders.
Intel will continue to track the evolution of this transition, from new internal issues to issues impacting the entire industry.
Methodology note: This month’s Inman Intel Index study was conducted from January 22nd to February 22nd. As of April 4, 2026, we received 643 responses. The entire Inman reader community was invited to participate, and a rotating selection of randomly selected community members were encouraged to participate via email. Users answered a series of questions about their self-proclaimed niche in the real estate industry, including real estate agents, brokers, financiers, and proptech entrepreneurs. Results reflect the views of our passionate Inman community, but do not necessarily align with the views of the broader real estate industry. This survey is conducted monthly.
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