If you’re considering self-employment as a real estate agent, but with the backing of a company, it’s possible you’ve come across Compass while looking at your options. Are they legitimate? Read on to find out.
About Compass Real Estate
Compass began as Urban Compass in 2012. Founders, Robert Reffkin and Ori Allon had the vision to bring transparency to the property market – you can read reviews that highlight the legitimacy of Compass online – and they were named the 4th largest real estate brokerage in the US, in the RealTrends report. This alone would suggest they are legitimate!
Investments and technology
Although many real estate companies use technology on some level, the founders of Compass wanted to set themselves apart from these by investing heavily in software that would help their agents and their clients. This meant they attracted some high-profile investors who liked the concept. The technology used has learning capabilities, meaning it can learn and predict changing trends in the housing market. This can at least partly explain the success Compass has had, with their agents completing over 144,000 transactions during 2020, making them the highest grossest real estate company that year.
Making life easier for agents and clients
Many real estate agents who go it alone will find the challenge of chasing their own clients can be time-consuming. The same can be said for helping buyers find the right property, or homeowners to sell theirs at a good price in a short time. However, Compass makes life easier for their clients by giving them access to the software which determines the best time of year to list a property and assesses the market price. Helping buyers and sellers this way, also makes the job easier for their agents.
The earnings potential
The earnings potential is higher than working for another real estate company or working alone because Compass agents can sell homes quicker with the help of their software. This frees them up to work with the next client. Agents can earn more commission and can also become eligible for bonuses.
What else makes Compass unique?
If a potential buyer is looking for a home that has fewer interested parties, they could find that through Compass. They have private exclusives, which aren’t listed anywhere else. This means the seller can avoid holding an open house and the buyer could get a property at a better price due to less competition.
Compass also has a Concierge program, exclusively open to clients who work with their agents. So, if the homeowner wants to make improvements that could lead to selling at a higher price, but their money is tied up in the property, Compass will front these costs.
Standing out from other real estate companies and being open to trying new things will always attract good and bad publicity. However, it’s clear Compass is a legitimate company. Many of the agents and the clients they have worked with speak highly of their methods, particularly their technology.
