One story that has been bubbling through the world of real estate law is the acrimonious lawsuit between Realogy and Compass. Realogy, whose stock price has suffered recently, is alleging Compass engaged in a variety of uncompetitive practices like poaching and attempting market collusion. Compass then asserted that Realogy sought an acquisition by Compass. In response, Compass moved to dismiss the complaint writing the complaint off as an attempt by Realogy to desperately devise an excuse for its declining market share and declining stock price.
Competition is generally a good thing for markets, and upstarts like Compass can keep established players like Realogy on their toes–in any industry. Realogy has acknowledged as much publicly, citing its sagging stock price as a sign they need to upgrade their internal technology to keep up with a changing landscape Should the lawsuit continue, the public is likely to get a behind-the-scenes view of the real estate industry.