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Senators Want the Compass-Anywhere Merger Investigated. The Stocks Shrug It Off.

Dec 18, 2025 13:01:00 -0500 by Shaina Mishkin | #Regulation

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) with Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Key Points

Federal regulators should investigate the proposed merger between Compass and Anywhere Real Estate , Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden wrote in a letter to the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission circulated on Thursday.

The deal could “raise barriers to entry for smaller firms, and threaten the transparency of real estate listings,” the senators wrote, adding that it could “allow the merged company to exert greater control over the real estate market, consumer access, and the homebuying process.”

The stocks weren’t shaken by the news: Compass stock was up about 3.9% in midday trading, while Anywhere shares were up about 4.4% after economic data released Thursday implied better days for housing—and investors—could be ahead.

In the letter dated Dec. 16, the senators said the proposed deal “comes at a time when housing affordability has reached crisis levels and access to homebuying for everyday families is at an all-time low.” They added that the two regulatory bodies “should thoroughly investigate whether this merger threatens competition and undermines transparence, and block it if it is not consistent with antitrust law.”

Warren earlier this year was among a group of left-leaning politicians who urged the two agencies to investigate the deal between loan originator Rocket and mortgage servicer Mr. Cooper. The deal passed antitrust scrutiny, with the closing announced in October.

New York-based Compass announced a deal earlier this year to acquire the New Jersey-based Anywhere Real Estate in an all-stock transaction that would create a company with roughly $10 billion in enterprise value. Anywhere operates and is the franchiser of brands such as Sotheby’s International Realty, Century 21, Coldwell Banker, and Corcoran.

A Compass spokesperson directed Barron’s to the news release announcing the combination. A spokesperson for Anywhere declined to comment. The Department of Justice didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The Federal Trade Commission confirmed it received the letter.

Since the day the deal was announced, Compass stock is up 38% at a recent $10.94. Anywhere stock is trading at $14.88, up 45%, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2026. Should the merger terminate because of a failure to clear certain regulatory hurdles, Compass would pay Anywhere a $350 million termination fee, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

If more intense antitrust challenges lie ahead, investors weren’t particularly worried on Thursday. The stocks rose as a softer-than-expected November inflation report added to hopes that a better year for housing lies ahead.

Slower-than-expected shelter inflation contributed to a soft consumer price reading. Economists have long been waiting for the inflation index’s shelter component, which notably lags behind market-rate rents, to ease. Data distortions caused by the government shutdown may have amplified the slowdown, Barron’s reported Thursday.

“At the end of the day, rent disinflation is continuing, and once the data starts getting reported again like usual, I would expect that trend to continue,” says Rick Palacios Jr., the director of research at John Burns Research and Consulting.

That’s a good sign for housing demand—and investors—on two fronts. Signs of weakening shelter costs raise hopes for a less competitive and more hospitable home-buying season in 2026 after a third straight year of worse-than-usual sales.

Slowing signs of inflation can also push down mortgage rates, which track the 10-year Treasury yield. That yield, in turn, is influenced by traders’ long-term expectations for the economy and monetary policy.

Fixed 30-year mortgage rates measured by Mortgage News Daily were down 0.05 percentage point, to 6.22%, around midday on Thursday.

The inflation data’s implications for home-buyers “are cautiously optimistic,” Realtor.com senior economist Jake Krimmel said in a statement. (News Corp, which owns Barron’s, also operates Realtor.com.)

“For now, this CPI reading offers a bit of good news,” Krimmel wrote, “but the path forward for the economy, the Fed, and the housing market remains highly data-dependent.”

Write to Shaina Mishkin at shaina.mishkin@dowjones.com