Compass finalized its acquisition of @properties Christie’s International Real Estate in January — and on Friday it allowed a glimpse inside its balance sheet for the first time since being absorbed by the publicly traded company.
In an audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Chicago’s biggest brokerage revealed $8.2 million in profits for 2023, the last full year before Compass acquired it, and a sharp increase to $20.7 million in profits during the first nine months of 2024.
From transactions details to previously undisclosed commission settlement figures, read further for the data points behind @properties’ public audit.
Thad Wong | @properties Christie’s International Real Estate
$357.4M in assets
The audit found that @properties had $50.5 million in liquid assets, with $27.9 million cash on hand and another $22.6 million in accounts receivable and other incoming revenue, as of October 2024.
In total, @properties had $357.4 million in total assets, much of it intangible, as of October 2024.
The brokerage also boasted $164.4 million in so-called goodwill, or the value of the brand itself.
It also revealed another $79.4 million in intangible assets, which include things like copyrights, patents and trademarks.
Former liabilities
The company reported $201.7 million in total liabilities, with $46.1 million in current liabilities plus $155.6 million in long-term liabilities, such as long-term debt.
The audit said all debt was paid before the merger with Compass closed in January.
$505M per year in commissions
Thad Wong, left, and Mike Golden, right. Co-CEOs of @properties
For all of 2023, @properties brokers pulled in $505.2 million in commission income, according to the audit. Another $21.8 million came from title agency revenues, and $42.8 million in unspecified revenue for a total of $569.8 million.
The brokerage paid its agents $425.5 million, or just over 82 percent of the total commission revenue that year. It paid $62.5 million in wages and benefits.
$11.2 million went to advertising and marketing expenses, and another $13.5 million on rent.
@properties reported spending $7.3 million on recruiting and retention. (For context, Fathom Realty reported spending $2.7 million on recruiting the same year.)
In total, the brokerage reported $548.5 million in operating expenses, and a net profit of $8.2 million after taxes in 2023.
At the end of 2023, @properties had a total retained earnings of $40.9 million.
$1.55B in combined assets
After adjusting for the cash Compass agreed to pay for the merger, the combined companies had $110.5 million estimated cash on hand as of October 2024, according to the audit.
Combined, the two companies would have posted a net loss of $110.9 million for the first nine months of 2024, led by Compass’ net loss of $114.1 million for that timeframe as it continued on its expansion path.
Between Compass’ $1.2 billion in assets and @properties’ $357.4 million in assets, the combined companies have $1.55 billion in total assets as of October.
They had combined liabilities of $878.7 million, although it’s not clear if that accounts for @properties’ payment of debt as part of the deal.
The companies earned a combined $4.6 billion in total revenue after accounting for various divestitures.
Compass CEO Robert Reffkin at Inman Disconnect 2019. Credit: Inman
Other insights
The audit included other details that shed some light on past deals made by @properties, including the purchase prices and revenue generated from marquee investments.
At the beginning of last year, @properties had $149.2 million in loans that are due later this month.
Part of those loans came from the purchase of Christie’s International Real Estate in November 2021. According to the audit, @properties drew $45 million from its delayed draw term loan to finance the transaction.
@properties agreed to pay Christie, Manson & Woods Limited $2 million per year through November 2026 for licensing the brand name Christie’s. It agreed to pay $3 million per year for five years after that date.
In March 2022, when @properties announced it was forming a partnership with Christie’s International Real Estate Sereno, the price of the acquisition wasn’t released. According to the audit, @properties paid $20.8 million for the business.
The companies set additional bonuses for commission targets, which would have paid out up to $8 million. Those targets weren’t hit, so no bonuses were paid out as part of the merger.
In 2019, @properties acquired Ansley Atlanta Real Estate. The acquisition gave it a 37.5 percent stake in Capstone Title Services. That equity holding earned @properties $800,000 in 2023, according to the audit.
The brokerage also owns 49.9 percent of Proper Rate, a mortgage provider. The equity ownership generated $300,000 for @properties in 2023.
When it agreed to settle the Sitzer | Burnett lawsuit in April 2024, @properties didn’t publicly state how much it agreed to pay the class members. According to the audit, @properties agreed to pay $6.5 million, which it submitted in May 2024.
