A tech-focused residential real estate company that just went public has expanded its reach to the Charlotte market, partnering with several local brokers as it looks to gain a foothold here.
New York-based Compass Inc. (NYSE: COMP) on Wednesday announced its launch in Charlotte with more than 60 local agents joining the brokerage. Andy Bovender of The Andy Bovender Team (formerly with Allen Tate Realtors), Gina Lorenzo of Your Property People (formerly with Re/Max Executive), and Scott Pridemore and Mike Hege of Pridemore Properties have joined Compass, bringing along their respective teams of agents.
The local agents now on board with Compass logged more than $370 million in combined sales volume last year, according to the company.
Charlotte marks Compass' second market in North Carolina, following the Triangle, where it launched just last month. The company is in expansion mode, now operating in nearly 50 U.S. markets. In the first quarter alone, it entered three new markets: Rhode Island, Delaware and Tampa, Florida.
"Charlotte and North Carolina, as a whole, are some of the hottest real estate markets in the U.S. ... With a strong history of finance and technological innovation, we knew Charlotte would be a great addition to the Compass network," said Kim Harris Campbell, the firm's regional president.
Compass' tech-enabled platform includes a suite of cloud-based software — custom built for the real estate industry — that focuses on areas such as customer relationship management, marketing, client service and brokerage services. The company says its strategy is to "replace today’s complex, paper-driven, antiquated workflow with a seamless, all-digital, end-to-end platform that empowers real estate agents to deliver an exceptional experience to every seller and buyer."
Compass didn't elaborate on its plans for the Charlotte market, but Campbell said it will look to bring on additional local agents and open more offices throughout the region.
It has opened a temporary office in Charlotte at 1515 Mockingbird Lane, in a 10-story building called 1515 Montford Park. Compass will remain there until it builds out a permanent space. That location has not yet been determined.
Campbell also said the company expects to grow its footprint with new markets throughout North Carolina.
Compass, founded in 2012, went public April 1 with shares closing that day at $20.15. The company raised $450 million in a downsized initial public offering, selling 25 million shares priced at $18. Its stock was trading at $13.94 per share as of 12:30 p.m. Wednesday.
In Compass' first quarter as a public company, it reported a net loss of $212.4 million, or $1.67 per share. That is improved from a loss of $137.2 million, or $1.22 per share, in the first quarter of 2020. However, $148.5 million of the latest loss was attributed to stock-based compensation in connection to the company's IPO. Its revenue of $1.1 billion in Q1 was up from $619.9 million in the same quarter a year ago.
The company said its average number of principal agents in the first quarter grew 20% year over year to 9,812, with additions coming from both new and existing markets. Its gross transaction value was a record $43.8 billion in the first quarter, up 75% year over year, with closed sales at 40,268, up 67% year over year. Compass reported its national market share at 5.2% in the first quarter, up from 3.8% at the same time in 2020.
Compass had more than 19,000 total agents at the end of 2020, according to its website. In the last fiscal year, it had revenue of $3.7 billion, a transaction value of $152 billion and closed sales of 145,000.
