The SERHANT. CEO jabbed at Compass’ launch this month of physical books of the brokerage’s exclusive listings in offices nationwide, likening it to old-school bookstores like Barnes & Noble.
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Luxury broker and CEO Ryan Serhant has likened rival Compass to old-school bookstore Barnes & Noble. Ouch.
The SERHANT. founder pushed back against the brokerage’s own narrative as a forward-looking firm on the cutting edge of new technology by saying Compass is banking on the “real estate model of yesterday.” The comments were made during The Real Deal’s New York City Showcase + Forum last Wednesday.
Cast members of the Netflix real estate reality TV series Owning Manhattan also joined Serhant on stage where the CEO also took aim at Compass’ recent acquisitions and its tug-of-war with portals and the National Association of Realtors over private listing networks.
“Compass’ goal is to break everything and own the pieces,” Serhant said on Wednesday. “They’re not building Amazon, they’re building Barnes & Noble. And that story has already been told.”
The call out to the brick-and-mortar book chain came on the heels of a decision by Compass to release physical books of private listings in the brokerage’s offices. Those books will update weekly with new listings, and a digital version will also be updated in real time. Marketing properties privately is the first phase of the brokerage’s “Three-Phase Marketing Strategy,” which also includes marketing properties as “coming soon” during a second phase and entering properties into the local multiple listing service during phase three.
Serhant seemed to agree with Compass’ general attitude that brokerages should resist “third-party vendors that hold our listings and lead flow and business hostage,” but found Compass’ approach to be a backward-looking model.
“If you want access to our listings, you have to come together on a physical book in a physical brick-and-mortar office,” Serhant said. “High tech, high touch books, right? It’s Barnes & Noble.”
When Inman reached out to Compass for comment, the brokerage pointed to comments CEO Robert Reffkin made last week during the company’s first quarter earnings call.
“I don’t know a homeowner who would say they want NAR, the MLS or a portal to tell them how they must market their home,” Reffkin said.
He also asserted that the brokerage’s moves surrounding private listings were not about what Compass wants, but rather, what homeowners want. “Homeowners want more choice, not less choice,” Reffkin said.
Reffkin also likened moves by portals and MLS’s to discourage consumers from private marketing to those made by power players in the cable and music industries in the past to raise prices.
“In both industries, the incumbents tried to block change by making it harder to leave, but that strategy only made consumers more aware of their dissatisfaction and sped up the shift,” Reffkin said.
“The same is now happening in real estate: MLS’s and portals are raising friction to discourage homeowners and listings agents from marketing off-MLS. But that resistance is increasing the migration to off-MLS alternatives because it’s making listings agents increasingly question the risks of MLS exposure for their clients — which are days on market, price drop history, diverted buyer inquiries, valuation estimates less than the value of the house — and ultimately, this is creating less trust with the people that give them their inventory.”
Reffkin also predicted that those negative factors will only lead to more private listings in the upcoming year, which will be to Compass’ advantage with their growing network of office exclusives.
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