National real estate player Compass enters Indy-area market by landing 23 local agents

Fast-growing national residential real estate firm Compass Inc. on Thursday announced its intention to become a major player in the Indianapolis area by scooping up 23 local agents for its team.

The New York City-based company, which went public in April with a $450 million initial public offering, said the local agents had more than $160 million in 2020 sales volume.

The biggest addition for Compass was high-profile agent Carrie Holle and her team of seven agents, who concentrate on high-end homes in the Carmel area and had sales volume of $65 million last year.

Compass said other additions include Greg Cooper and Lisa Phillips of The Cooper Group, Mike Feldman of Bond Real Estate, Erin Hundley, Ben Jones of The Jones Team, and Stacey Sobczak of F.C. Tucker Co.

It also named Michelle Powell as broker of record for Indiana.

“We’re thrilled to launch in Indiana with such a high-esteemed group of founding agents,” Rachael Rohn, Compass regional president, said in written remarks.

Founded in 2012, Compass has grown into the second largest residential real estate brokerage in the United States, with a market share of 5.2%. The company operates as a traditional brokerage but touts itself as a real estate technology company with cloud-based digital platform that streamlines the homebuying process and gives its agents an advantage over other sellers.

Compass has nearly 21,000 agents in more than 50 markets. In 2020, it assisted home sellers and buyers make $152 billion in residential real estate transactions.

Its agents are hired as independent contractors under the brand.

Compass reported revenue of $1.1 billion in its first quarter following the IPO, from 40,268 transactions valued at $43.8 billion. It reported a net loss of $212.4 million as expenses rose to $1.3 billion.

Amid its success, Compass has been the subject of a slew of lawsuits from competing real estate companies over its recruiting tactics and former agents who say they signed misleading and deceptive contracts with the company. At least four lawsuits have been filed since the company went public, including a California suit seeking class-action status that alleges Compass lied about agent commissions, marketing deductions and expenses. Compass said the claims were without merit.

Compass shares traded at $12.94 each Thursday, down from $20.15 at their IPO.