From Compass to The Real Brokerage to eXp World Holdings, consolidation in the real estate space has taken off over the past nine months. While there is much industry debate and speculation regarding firms’ motivations for these deals, there is no denying that these mergers and acquisitions have caused the acquiring firms to gain market share. 

In 2025, a total of 4,158,305.5 transaction sides valued at $2.38 trillion in sales volumes were recorded by the firms that submitted their results to the 2026 RealTrends Verified Rankings. As they have for the past few years, eXp Realty and Compass topped the rankings for transaction side count and sales volume, respectively. But in light of all of the recent M&A news, including Compass’s acquisition of Anywhere, which closed in 2026 and was not included in its 2025 results, rankings may look different in a year from now. 

A small bump for eXp

Last year, agents at eXp Realty closed 343,091 transaction sides, representing 8.25% of the market according to RealTrends Verified data. Additionally, the firm’s total sales volume came in at $155.56 billion. Late last week, eXp announced its acquisition of real estate franchisor NextHome for an undisclosed sum.

While they report their results individually, in total, the NextHome franchises who qualified for the rankings data closed 2,890 transaction sides, totaling $957.731 million in sales volume in 2025. 

Although this acquisition may have expanded eXp into a multi-model platform, based on RealTrends Verified data it did not do much for its market share, bumping its share of transaction in 2025 to 8.32% and giving it 6.57% of the overall sales volume, up from 6.53% prior to the acquisition. 

Big boost for Real

For Real, however, which recently announced its acquisition of REMAX, which is expected to close in the second half of this year, its M&A action resulted in a decent jump in its market share. 

In 2025, RealTrends Verified data shows that Real agents closed 131,047 transaction sides, valued at $65.22 billion. This is 3.15% of the market share by transaction side count and 2.74% of the market share by sales volume. But when combined with the REMAX brand’s 378,961.3 transaction sides and $165.746 billion in sales volume in 2025, things look a bit different.

If it had been operating at the combined Real REMAX Group in 2025, the data shows that Real’s market share, when combined with that of the firms under the REMAX brand, would have been 12.26% by transaction sides and 9.69% by sales volume. While the industry will have to wait until next year to see how things shake out of the combined firm in 2026, this would suggest the potential for a significant jump in market share. 

Compass gained the most

But although Real’s potential for market share growth is impressive, Compass, which acquired Anywhere Real Estate, becoming Compass International Holdings, has the largest market share growth potential, based on the 2026 RealTrends Verified Rankings. 

The Compass International Holdings umbrella includes Anywhere Advisors, Anywhere’s owned brokerage operation, the franchise operations of Christie’s International Real Estate, Coldwell Banker, CENTURY 21, ERA, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate (BHGRE), Corcoran and Sotheby’s International Realty, as well as the operations of @properties, Ansley, Cottingham Chalk, PorchLight, Colorado Homes Realty and Washington Fine Properties, which Compass acquired in 2025. 

RealTrends Verified data shows that in 2025, Compass, whose results include those of the six brokerages it acquired in 2025, recorded 245,173 transaction sides and a total sales volume of $262.23 billion. This represented 5.90% of the market share by sides and 11% of the market share by volume.

However, when you combine this with Anywhere Advisors (245,250 sides, $192.76 billion in volume), the Coldwell Banker brand (380,615 sides, $221.536 billion in volume), the Sotheby’s International Realty franchises (113,579 sides, $140.316 billion in sales volume), the ERA franchises (49,635.5 sides, $19.018 billion in volume), the BHGRE brand (35,739 sides, $14.904 billion in volume), the Corcoran affiliates (16,590 sides, $25.563 billion in volume), the CENTURY 21 franchises (112,066 sides, $46,010 billion in volume) and the Christie’s International Real Estate affiliates (12,747.4 sides, $17.962 billion in volume), things start to add up. 

In total, the agents now part of the Compass International Holdings ecosystem closed over 1.2 billion sides valued at more than $940.299 billion in sales volume in 2025. Based on 2025 data, this represents 29.13% of the market share by transaction sides and 39.44% of the market by sales volume, a large jump from the 5.90% and 11% market shares Compass as an individual brokerage recorded this past year. 

Although some have speculated and feared that Compass International Holdings will use its market share might to create a walled garden of housing inventory only available to its agents and the consumers who work with them through its private exclusive listings, the firm has reiterated that agents, including Compass brokerage agents are free to market listings however their seller chooses as long as the marketing tactics fall within state, local and national laws. 

But no matter how you slice it, Compass International Holdings has a clear market share advantage over Real REMAX Group and eXp World Holdings.