C
ompass's CEO Robert Reffkin outlined his vision for future success during the company's third-quarter earnings call with investors and analysts. The key to Compass's growth is becoming a hub for real estate listings, leveraging its existing depth of inventory in local markets to attract buyers and agents.

    Reffkin aims to achieve an average market share of 30% in Compass's top 30 markets, which would give the company a significant competitive advantage by increasing the number of listings its agents have and contacts in their customer relationship management (CRM) platforms. This, in turn, will make Compass.com the go-to destination for buyers searching for properties.

    The Make Me Sell program, set to launch fully in all markets in 2025, will allow clients to provide an aspirational sales price for their home, creating potential inventory and attracting agents and consumers looking for properties they can't find elsewhere. Reffkin believes this will create better outcomes for sellers, buyers, and agents, ultimately benefiting Compass and its shareholders.

    However, Compass's plan faces a hurdle in the National Association of Realtors' Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP), which requires listing agents to list a property on the MLS within one business day of publicly marketing it. Reffkin has become a vocal critic of CCP, arguing that it infringes on sellers' choices and forces them to market their homes through the MLS.

    Reffkin wants Compass to be known as the place where homeowners can list their properties early, protected from the risk of MLS exposure. He claims that repealing CCP would level the playing field for existing homeowners competing with builders who are exempt from the policy.

    Industry professionals argue that repealing CCP would harm buyers by making the home search process more challenging and laborious. Reffkin countered this criticism by pointing out that other countries without an MLS have made shopping for a home easier over time, and that competition drives innovation in free markets.

    Despite the challenges posed by CCP, Compass has recorded strong growth in Q3 2024, with revenue increasing 11.7% year-over-year to $1.5 billion, transaction count jumping 16.1%, and national market share growing to 4.8%. The company remains on track to be free cash-flow positive for the full year 2024, a first for the brokerage.