Fresh off the heels of three consecutive months of record revenue — including an August in which revenue rose 70 percent year-over-year — Compass doesn’t need to go public to raise capital, CEO Robert Reffkin insisted Friday morning in an appearance on CNBC.
But when the time comes, Compass is ready, after bolstering its board with seasoned executives, Eileen Murray, Pamela Thomas-Graham and one member to be named later this month.
“Our business is really surging,” Reffkin said. “As a result, we don’t need to go public in order to raise capital”.
“That said, we do have the people in place and the systems in place to go public when we would like.”
The increase in revenue comes as Compass has seen a massive increase in demand in home purchases. Consumer traffic to Compass’ website is up 180 percent, according to Reffkin. The average search is also 19 percent longer, a future indicator, Reffkin added.
“We believe that the increased activity is going to persist throughout the rest of this year and into 2021,” Reffkin said. “People have never been so intimately aware of the inadequacies of their home and everyone wants more space.”
The discussion takes place as Opendoor, a real estate startup that, like Compass, has accepted funding from the SoftBank Vision Fund, is reportedly in talks to go public with a blank-check company.
Reffkin also reiterated his belief that New York City is not “dead,” as some have speculated. He also disagreed with the main premise of a letter sent to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio by more than 100 of the city’s top business leaders. Reffkin was not one of the signees.
The letter, signed by leaders of companies including Warby Parker, Lyft, WeWork, Mastercard and Bank of America, addressed what these leaders believe are quality of life and safety concerns in the city.
“Despite New York’s success in containing the coronavirus, unprecedented numbers of New Yorkers are unemployed, facing homelessness, or otherwise at risk,” the letter reads. “There is widespread anxiety over public safety, cleanliness and other quality of life issues that are contributing to deteriorating conditions in commercial districts and neighborhoods across the five boroughs.”
When Reffkin was asked, point-blank, if he believed the safety and security issues are as pronounced as the letter says, he responded that he does not.
“Safety is the primary concern for every company and should be for every city,” Reffkin said. “I’m glad that letter was sent to the mayor.”
“But I do believe, when I look at actual data, the issues around safety are more in the headlines than the trendlines,” Reffkin added. “The trendlines are positive.”
