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The recruiting wars show no sign of simmering down this spring, with Compass this week luring a top-performing agent away from Redfin.
Hal Bennett
Hal Bennett is based in the Seattle, Washington, area and, according to a statement from Compass, “has consistently ranked at the pinnacle of his profession.” Prior to joining Compass, he worked at Redfin where, according to RealTrends, he was ranked 17th in Washington state for 2023 sales volume. He was ranked 16th for 2023 transaction sides.
Compass’ statement notes that Bennett’s move to the brokerage is “largely about leveraging the industry’s only end-to-end platform to enhance client service and operational efficiency.”
“At this stage, joining Compass, a company at the forefront of technology and agent support, makes sense for my business,” Bennett said in the statement. “Compass’ investment in AI and tools that optimize our workflow is remarkable.”
Prior to Redfin, Bennett began his career at Keller Williams and, according to his LinkedIn page, also spent time at RE/MAX.
Bennett’s move to Compass comes as brokerages compete intensely for top agent talent. Though competition in the industry has always been fierce, the slower market of the last several years has shifted the focus to agents with a proven track record of closing deals.
Compass has been especially aggressive in growing its agent ranks lately, and in recent weeks has seen multiple teams boomerang back to the company after previously leaving for rival firms. The company has also made major acquisitions to boost its headcount, including the April purchase of Gulf Coast giant Latter & Blum.
Other brokerages have responded with their own recruiting efforts. Significantly in this context, Redfin last fall announced a new program that replaced its salaried agent model with a new commission model. The program is designed to appeal to high-performing agents who might otherwise have hit an income ceiling under the old system, but whose earnings now are theoretically unlimited. The company has been gradually rolling the model out in more and more markets this year.
In Bennett’s case, however, Compass’ offerings were apparently sufficiently enticing to get him to switch companies, with the statement noting that the firm’s “technology platform significantly influenced Hal’s decision to join the brokerage.”
