REAL Trends Represents Alain Pinel Realtors in Sale to Compass
Compass’ Bay Area footprint doubles with the addition of top brokerage Alain Pinel Realtors.
New York City-based real estate tech company Compass announced the acquisition of Alain Pinel Realtors, a leading real estate brokerage based in California’s Silicon Valley.
REAL Trends represented Alain Pinel and its founders, the Hulme family, in the deal that closed on March 1.
Founded in 1990, Alain Pinel Realtors launched with a single agent, growing to nearly 1,300 agents across 33 offices in the Bay Area. Alain Pinel Realtors has been known as a pioneer in the industry committed to innovation, Compass said in its announcement, noting that the brokerage was ahead of the curve in using real estate software, personal computers and email. Alain Pinel Realtors recently acquired boutique brokerage Hill & Co., growing its luxury presence in the San Francisco Bay Area.
“Over the last 30 years, Alain Pinel Realtors have become leaders in the Bay Area, known for their luxury offering and strong culture,” said Robert Reffkin, Compass CEO. “The Hulme family has built a company with the same entrepreneurial, agent-centric values as Compass and I am excited to work together to build the future of the real estate industry.”
“When my family founded Alain Pinel Realtors in 1990, we were committed to transforming real estate and 30 years later, we continue to look for ways to innovate,” said Mike Hulme, President of Alain Pinel Realtors. “By partnering with Compass, we are able to further our vision and offer our agents the opportunity to build the future of real estate.”
With sales volume topping $12.2 billion in both 2017 and 2018, Alain Pinel is a top 10 brokerage in the U.S., according to the REAL Trends 500. Compass launched in the Bay Area in 2016 and has grown to include over 3,000 agents across 97 office locations in the region. REAL Trends President Steve Murray said that with the acquisition of Alain Pinel, Compass in just six months has purchased two of the 10 largest brokerage firms in the U.S. based on sales volume (the other firm being San Francisco-based Pacific Union).
Add to the equation that Compass had also purchased San Francisco-based Paragon in June 2018, bringing its acquisition total to three of the five largest brokerages in California in less than a year. Compass is the largest independent brokerage in the country and the number one brokerage in California; with Alain Pinel Realtors, Compass will have over 4,500 agents across the state.
Earlier this year, Compass had reported that it was putting the brakes on expanding into new markets, but would focus on building its presence in its current markets. It recently announced the acquisition of tech platform Contactually.
“It appears that, in addition to its agent acquisition program, Compass will invest in the purchase of brokerage firms that operate in high-priced housing markets,” said Murray. “Compass executives have told REAL Trends that they intend to remain opportunistic insofar as the acquisition of key brokerage firms in its target markets.”
Compass was founded in 2012 with the mission of helping everyone find their place in the world by creating the industry’s first end-to-end platform. In the past six years, Compass has grown to service more than 10,000 agents across 248 offices in 132 markets across the country. The company is valued at $4.4 billion and has raised $1.2 billion to date.
About Compass
Compass is a real estate technology company with a powerful end-to-end platform that supports the entire buying and selling workflow. We deliver an incomparable experience to both agents and their clients all in service of the Compass mission: to help everyone find their place in the world. Founded in 2012 by Ori Allon and Robert Reffkin, Compass operates in cities across the United States including: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Philadelphia, San Diego, Washington, D.C., Dallas, Austin, Houston, Nashville, Atlanta, Boston, Miami, Aspen, Orange County, Westchester, Santa Barbara, Montecito, Marin, Greenwich, Naples, Tahoe, Telluride and The Hamptons. Learn more at compass.com/careers and agents.compass.com.
About Alain Pinel
Alain Pinel Realtors is the largest privately owned residential real estate company in Northern California and is consistently ranked among the top ten largest residential real estate firms in the United States based on closed-sales volume. The firm has nearly 1,300 agents in more than 30 offices throughout Northern California. For more, go to apr.com, china.apr.com, facebook.com/AlainPinelRealtors, and @AlainPinel.
