Very Real Estate, a 10-person boutique indie brokerage located in the Old City neighborhood of Philadelphia, is moving to Compass. A Compass spokesperson confirmed to Inman Wednesday that the entire brokerage signed independent contractor agreements to join Compass.
Very Real Estate was founded in 2013 with an emphasis on buy-side representation.
“We knew very quickly during this process that Very Real Estate’s vision for growth was aligned with Compass,” Elizabeth Convery, the founder of Very Real Estate, said in a statement.
“The core values of our brand fit so well with the culture of Compass, with care for our clients and one another at the forefront,” Convery added. “The partnership will allow the Very Real Estate team to continue to provide its clients with unparalleled service while having access to the latest tools in real estate marketing and technology.”
As a fourth-generation Philadelphia resident, Convery said she created the brokerage because her market was dominated by large franchises – although now she joins one of the fastest-growing real estate brokerages in the country, one with more than 13,000 agents.
She explained that her goal was to focus on quality of transactions, not quantity – although Compass itself has ambitious market share goals – and that Compass’ platform will allow her team to be nimble while delivering the best personalized service for clients.
The move bolster’s Compass’ presence in Philadelphia, a market it entered in July 2018. In April of this year, Compass boasted approximately 336 agents and 40 staff in the city, according to a report in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
“We could not be more proud to welcome [Convery] and her team to the Compass family,” Skye Michiels, managing director of Compass in Philadelphia, said in a statement. “She is an incredibly talented business leader who has built an outstanding team of great agents.”
“By partnering with Compass, [Convery] will now be able to leverage the tools and technology that we offer to help her clients more than she already has,” Michiels added. “We are thrilled to collaborate with her and help her as she continues to grow her business.”
Hot on the heels of a recent $370 million funding round, Compass has a fresh influx of capital for acquisitions and agent recruitment.
Correction: Due to inaccurate information provided by Compass, this story originally stated that Compass had acquired Very Real Estate. The story has been updated to reflect that Very Real Estate was not acquired, but, rather, its entire team signed independent contractor agreements with Compass. Inman regrets the error.
