Compass Inc. is nearing a potential acquisition of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s real estate brokerage business amid a flurry of recent dealmaking in the property sector, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The New York-based real estate broker is in advanced talks about a deal for Berkshire Hathaway’s HomeServices of America, according to the WSJ, which didn’t mention a potential price.
Compass is the largest residential brokerage in the U.S., having worked on nearly $185 billion of sales in 2023, according to industry data provider RealTrends. It has more than 300 offices and almost 30,000 agents across the country. Shares in the company have more than doubled over the last 12 months, giving it a market value of about $4.7 billion.
HomeServices of America operates a network of property agents in the U.S. covering both residential and commercial sales and leasings. It ranked fourth for sales in the U.S. in 2023, with about $134 billion, RealTrends data shows. A combined Compass and HomeServices business would be almost twice the size of its nearest competitor when measured by sales.
Deliberations are ongoing, the WSJ said. Representatives for Compass and Berkshire didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The U.S. housing market is facing challenges from higher borrowing costs, which pushed sales of previously owned homes last year to the lowest level since 1995.
This week, Bloomberg News reported that Rocket Cos. is pushing deeper into the property market with a deal to buy real estate listing site Redfin Corp. for $1.75 billion. Last year, Compass agreed to buy Christie’s International Real Estate and other businesses in a transaction valued at $444 million.
