Compass‘ growing footprint has now officially expanded to Nashville, the real estate brokerage confirmed Wednesday. The New York City-based company first revealed it was eyeing the Music City for expansion when it announced its recent $400 million funding round.
“Nashville is a market we’re particularly excited about,” Compass Chief Growth Officer Rob Lehman said in a release. “It’s one of the 10 fastest growing cities in the country, and we want to support that growth with a platform that empowers the local real estate agent community.
Compass pulled a total of 16 agents from Synergy Real Estate Group, Village Real Estate, Zeitlin Sotheby’s International Realty, PARKS Realty and Chateau Properties ahead of the launch. Joining the brokerage are: Michelle Maldonado, Franklin and Lana Pargh, Greg Cooley, Robert Drimmer, Jessi Sgarlata and the Southbound Group, Sara Michaels Evers and Moving Music City Team, David Koellein, Chris Koch, and Angela Wright.
While homebuyers can browse listings in Nashville online today, Compass also plans to open a flagship office in the heart of the city in the coming months. The company has hired eight full-time local employees and aims to bring on additional expert marketers, designers and administrators to support the agents.
The company has grown exponentially this year, launching in more than a dozen new markets. It has seen its agent count grow to more than 7,000 agents across 165 offices in more than 80 cities nationwide. It next plans to expand internationally, although the company has been mum on where exactly it is targeting.
Much of that expansion has been fueled by venture capital funding. Compass has raised $1.2 billion to date and is now valued at $4.4 billion. Much of the remaining capital has gone towards developing an end-to-end real estate platform that incorporates Compass’ existing agent platform, which includes a customer relationship management tool and marketing center. Compass also developed a high-tech “smart” real estate sign.
Compass’ biggest competition in the market comes from Keller Williams Realty, which closed more than 14,000 transactions sides in 2018; Benchmark Realty LLC, which closed more than 7,000 transaction sides; PARKS Realty, which closed more than 6,000 transaction sides and Reliant Realty ERA Powered, which closed more than 4,000 transaction sides in 2018.
Zeitlin Sotheby’s International Realty closed more than 1,000 transactions in 2018 and Both RE/MAX and Keller Williams also have local franchises that closed more than 1,000 transactions in 2018.
Update: Story updated to include additional brokerages based in Franklin, Tennesee, which is just south of Nashville and will also be competing for market share.