Compass adds top-performing agent in Houston

Compass is making progress on its goal of establishing a 30% market share in 30 of country’s top metro areas.

The brokerage has expanded its roster in Houston with the addition of Natasha Simon, who brings $892 million in career sales across 1,200 transactions to the company. She was previously with LPT Realty, a Keller Williams affiliate.

“It’s an exciting time to join Compass,” Simon said in a statement. “Unmatched support and marketing tools provided by Compass make me confident that this decision will lead to continued success and growth in my career.”

“Simon’s dedication to providing exceptional service to her clients, coupled with her strategic mindset and sales achievements, makes her a valuable addition to Compass,” the brokerage said in a statement.

On its earnings call last month, Compass CEO Robert Reffkin said the brokerage added nearly 3,300 agents during the year ending in June, up 24%, through organic growth and acquisitions. This pushed up the firm’s market share to 5.13%, 50 basis points higher compared to Q2 2023.

But Compass wants to make further inroads in its 30 biggest markets, with the ambitious goal of hitting 30% market share in these areas. The company’s torrent of new additions, particularly in Texas, speaks to that effort.

Earlier this month, Compass landed Prospect Real Estate Team, an eight-person brokerage in Austin that brings $1.21 billion in sales since 2018. In July, Bridgette Harrington of Rogers Healy & Associates in Dallas-Fort Worth moved over to Compass.

Other recent additions include teams and agents in Florida, New Jersey, New York City, Tennessee, Washington and Colorado.

Compass is expanding at a time of great uncertainty caused by the new rules tied to the $418 million settlement of antitrust lawsuits by the National Association of Realtors. There are questions as to whether smaller independent brokerages will be able to survive.

While Reffkin said on the company’s earnings call that he’s not seen any changes in agent commissions feared by the industry due to the settlement, agents at other companies say they’ve seen commissions drop by as much as a point.