ROBERT REFFKIN - FOUNDER & CEO, COMPASS
“We are building a more open, competitive marketplace — one that gives homeowners and agents real choice, more transparency, and smarter strategies.”
3-Phased Marketing Strategy
For decades, organized real estate, including multiple listing services, associations, and online portals, have dictated how homes are marketed and sold in the United States. These entities profit from controlling access to listings and information, limiting both competition and consumer choice.
3-Phased Marketing Strategy
As a result, home sellers are forced into a one-size-fits-all approach. Once a home appears on MLSs and portals, it’s immediately subject to negative insights like days on market, price drops, and automated value estimates — all of which can quickly work against a seller’s best interest. Sellers are forced to either accept these negative insights or list their home as a Private Exclusive. There is no other option available because organized real estate dictates how listings must be marketed.
At Compass, we believe homeowners should have the freedom to decide how to market and sell their home. Every seller deserves a strategy that aligns with their goals, timing, and comfort level.
That’s why we created the Compass 3-Phased Marketing Strategy, giving homeowners the same advantages as real estate developers and professional homebuilders.
Professional homebuilders and real estate developers have a sophisticated playbook on how to sell homes and just like some homeowners, have properties they want to advertise that aren’t ready to be shown.
Here are the key things they do:
Test Aspirational Pricing
They test an aspirational price or validate a pricing strategy privately before listing on the MLS.
Harness the Power of Marketing
They market while staging and preparing the home to create interest and anticipation before it’s ready to be on MLSs and portals.
Learn from Engagement Insights From the Listing Page
They learn from the data and analytics they get from their websites, including property page views, visits, and engagement insights.
Protect and Control Their Data
They control which websites their photos, address, and data appear on and protect their data.
At Compass, we believe selling your home should feel as personal and considered as the home itself. Our 3-Phased Marketing Strategy offers distinct pathways that are crafted to align with your goals, your timing, and your vision.
To help you make the most informed decision, we’ve outlined all available options in our disclosure form:
At Compass, we put homeowners first.
1. Eliminate Days on Market & Price Drop History Risk
Extend your marketing runway by controlling when the property is put on the MLS and portals, helping minimize public days on market or price drop history. Excessive days on market and price drop history can devalue your property in the eyes of buyers.
2. Avoid Missed Buyer Inquiries
Some third-party sites block buyers’ ability to contact the listing agent directly. These leads are sold to other agents who may be unfamiliar with your home and may not represent the buyers in a way that results in a sale.
3. Control your Pricing
Automated home valuations on third-party sites use outdated algorithms and incomplete data, often mispricing homes and negatively shaping buyer expectations before you even list.
4. No Negative Insights Added to Your Listing
Portals can add their own assessments and information to a listing, which may not accurately reflect the true condition, value, or desirability of your property.
A Smarter, More Flexible Way to Sell
PHASE 1
The rigid rules of organized real estate limit how agents can compete and how sellers can showcase their properties. However, Compass Private Exclusives give both agents and homeowners the freedom to tailor their marketing approach.
Because all marketing is public by definition, a Private Exclusive isn’t hidden or secret. It is a way to publicly market in the manner that best serves the homeowner — without exposing the property to negative signals that can reduce perceived value.
Every buyer and brokerage searching on Compass.com can see how many Private Exclusives match their criteria and connect with a Compass agent to learn more. In fact, while almost every real estate company in the United States has private listings, Compass is the only one that offers this level of transparency to consumers.
On Compass.com, every home search displays the exact number of available properties — including Compass Private Exclusives — providing equal visibility and opportunity for every consumer and brokerage regardless of any buyer characteristic.
PHASE 2
Publicly launch your property on Compass.com, showcasing it to all agents and consumers on the internet without displaying days on market or price drop history. Signal to the market that increased competition for the listing will be coming soon when it’s launched on all other sites.
Find out more about Compass Coming Soon here.
PHASE 3
Go ‘Active’ on the MLS and portals with the benefit of learning from Phases 1 & 2.
Armed with feedback from agents and buyers, we strategically launch your home on the MLS and portals in a way that helps ensure maximum demand and confidence to achieve the best outcome for you. Now that your home is on the MLS and portals, it will accrue days on market and visible price drop history
Our research shows that Compass-sold homes that are marketed before going active on the MLS and portals, on average, are associated with these results:
On Compass.com, every home search displays the exact number of available properties — including Compass Private Exclusives — providing equal visibility and opportunity for every consumer regardless of any buyer characteristic.
Not being on the MLS or portals to start helps more sellers and is good for competition. While a one-stop shop like the MLS or portals may seem convenient, in the long run, it hurts competition and limits consumer choice. The real estate market is no different. The free-market system thrives on diversity, with different companies offering distinct products and consumers empowered to choose what best suits their needs.
When choice disappears and control is concentrated in a single source or monopoly, the result is inevitable: higher prices, fewer options, and lower quality.
At Compass, we believe the same principles that drive a healthy economy should also define how homes are bought and sold. That’s why we’re building a more open, competitive marketplace—one that gives homeowners and agents real options, greater transparency, and smarter strategies.
3-Phased Marketing Strategy
At Compass, we believe every homeowner deserves control over how their property is marketed and the freedom to protect its value.
The choice should always belong to the homeowner — not organized real estate.
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