CoStar, real estate website competitor end trade-secret lawsuit
April 7 (Reuters) - Real-estate listing website owner Move Inc has agreed to end a lawsuit that accused rival CoStar Group (CSGP.O), opens new tab of poaching one of its former employees to steal its trade secrets, according to a Monday filing in California federal court.
The filing said, opens new tab that Move's Realtor.com would dismiss its case with prejudice, which means it cannot be refiled. A Realtor.com spokesperson said in a statement that the company dismissed the lawsuit because it had settled with ex-employee James Kaminsky, who no longer works at CoStar.
A spokesperson and attorneys for CoStar did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Kaminsky's attorneys also did not respond to a request for comment and details of the settlement on Monday.
Realtor.com said in its lawsuit last year that CoStar misused confidential information from Kaminsky, who ran its "News and Insights" platform, to bolster CoStar's competing real-estate listing website. The lawsuit said that Realtor.com is the second most-visited real-estate listing website in the United States, and that CoStar has been working "aggressively" to grow its rival website Homes.com.
Realtor.com alleged that Kaminsky stole documents related to business strategy, industry contacts and "a vast array of other competitively sensitive and valuable information" for CoStar.
CoStar responded in a court filing that the claims were "knowingly false" and part of a "flailing effort to stymie the success of Homes.com," which it said had surpassed Realtor.com in the marketplace. Kaminsky also denied the allegations in a separate filing.
The case is Move Inc v. CoStar Group Inc, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, No. 2:24-cv-05607.
For Move: Brent Caslin, David Singer, Todd Toral and Carolyn Small of Jenner & Block
For CoStar: Nicholas Boyle, Matthew Walch and Joseph Axelrad of Latham & Watkins
For Kaminsky: Ethan Brown and Patricia Tenenbaum of Brown Neri Smith & Khan
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC News
15-05-2025
- NBC News
Here's exactly how unaffordable today's housing market is — and where it's getting worse
Ever since the epic run on housing in the first years of the pandemic, fueled by record-low mortgage rates, the market has been plagued by low supply and high prices. Prices in March were 39% higher nationally than they were in March 2019, pre-pandemic, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index. While prices continue to gain, the supply crunch is finally starting to ease — but not at the right price points. Demand for housing is strong overall, but strongest on the lower, more-affordable end of the market. That segment is still desperately undersupplied. As a result, home sales in the lower and middle price tiers continue to underperform the high-end market. A new report from the National Association of Realtors and breaks down affordability and supply, shedding light on exactly where the pain points are in the market. Affordability was determined by using standard underwriting guidelines for buyers using a 30-year fixed mortgage, where 30% of income is used for the monthly payment (mortgage, property tax and insurance). For those earning between $75,000 and $100,000 annually, considered middle- to upper-middle-income buyers, the supply of homes for sale that they could afford increased the most of any income group this year from a year ago. In March 2024, 20.8% of listings were within reach for these households, and by March of this year that rose to 21.2%. But in March 2019, those same buyers could afford nearly half, or 48.8%, of all active listings. In a so-called balanced market between buyer and seller, that group should be able to afford 48% of all listings, according to the report. Based on current inventory levels, the market would need roughly 416,000 more listings priced at or below $255,000 in order to be balanced, the study found. For those earning below $75,000 annually, the market has become even less supplied. A homebuyer with a salary of $50,000 could afford just 8.7% of available listings in March, compared with 9.4% in March 2024 and 27.8% in March 2019. Higher-income households have near-total access to the housing market. Homebuyers earning $250,000 or more can afford at least 80% of home listings. 'Shoppers see more homes for sale today than one year ago, and encouragingly, many of these homes have been added at moderate-income price points,' said Danielle Hale, chief economist at 'But as this report shows, we still don't have an abundance of homes that are affordable to low- and moderate-income households.' Hale added that progress in inventory hasn't been uniform across the country, saying gains have been concentrated in the Midwest and the South. While the report is a national snapshot, all real estate is local. Markets in the Midwest, like Akron, Ohio; St. Louis; and Pittsburgh, are considered balanced, with enough supply to meet demand. Others have made significant strides, adding more affordable listings but still shy of meeting demand. These include Raleigh, North Carolina; Des Moines, Iowa; and Grand Rapids, Michigan. More than 40% of the nation's 100 largest metropolitan markets, however, are still struggling. These include Seattle and Washington, D.C. While the supply of affordable homes has increased in both markets, households still need to earn more than $150,000 a year in order to afford even half of the homes available. Other markets that had been overheated are finally cooling off. Austin, Texas; San Francisco; and Denver have seen a substantial increase in the supply of affordable homes. They now surpass pre-pandemic levels. 'It tells us that with the right mix of new construction, market shifts, and local policy efforts, even some of the most challenging markets can start to bend toward balance,' according to the report's authors. And then there are markets that are just getting worse. Many of these are in Southern California, including Los Angeles and San Diego. New York City also falls into that category. The report cites several factors for this, including decades of underbuilding, a limited supply of buildable land, high construction costs, restrictive zoning laws and fast in-migration. Homebuilders are trying to put up more affordable homes, but their costs are high and could go even higher amid tariffs and new immigration policies. Single-family housing starts in March were nearly 10% lower than the same month a year prior.
Reuters
09-05-2025
- Reuters
US real estate firm CoStar to buy Australia's Domain in a $1.9 billion deal
May 9 (Reuters) - Australia's Domain Holdings ( opens new tab said on Friday U.S. online real estate firm CoStar (CSGP.O), opens new tab would acquire the property classifieds company for an implied enterprise value of A$3 billion ($1.92 billion). Under the deal, CoStar and its unit, which already owns a 16.9% stake in Domain, will acquire the remaining shares in the company at A$4.43 apiece, a 4.2% premium to the stock's last closing price on Thursday. Domain may also decide to declare a special dividend of up to A$0.10 per share, which will reduce the deal value by that amount, it said. The deal marks CoStar's first foray into the Australian market and could transform the landscape in a sector where listing volumes have sagged as high living costs slowed the country's hot housing sector but are improving with interest rates coming down. Domain's board has unanimously recommended that shareholders vote in favour of the proposed deal, which is also subject to Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) approval. Domain's 60% owner, Nine Entertainment ( opens new tab, said in a separate statement that the deal "appropriately reflects the strategic value" of its interest in Domain and it intends to vote in favour of the deal in absence of a superior offer. ($1 = 1.5640 Australian dollars)
Daily Mail
05-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Increasingly popular state for homebuyers just cut property taxes and looks at big oil to foot the bill
Montana is cutting property taxes in half and expecting the state's biggest landholders and absentee owners to pay a little extra. The state legislature announced the passing of House Bill 231 and Senate Bill 542 last week. The property tax relief bills aim to help rebalance Montana's property tax system after years of soaring home values. While designed to bring relief to homeowners, the bills have sparked heated debate among officials. 'This is an unconstitutional bill. It is a violation of our rules, and additionally, no matter what lipstick you put on this pig, it is a tax shift,' Senator John Fuller said about House Bill 231 via NBC Montana. Senator Daniel Zolnikov insisted the session was 'off the rails' and believed the state's property tax relief is a 'failure.' 'To tell you the truth, I'm kind of stunned that we're arguing against cutting property taxes for residents of Montana. That's what we came here to do,' Minority Leader Pat Flowers stated. The changes come amid rising concerns over housing affordability. Household income needed for a Montana home has grown by 85 percent. At the same time fears of potential housing market crash have grown. Montana's property values have risen over the past few years, along with residential tax bills. Homeowners have discovered their bills doubled in certain counties, leading some to worry they can no longer afford their properties, according to By then, Montana's Department of Revenue had already warned lawmakers that taxes could burden residential owners. Despite their passing, the bills could potentially be delayed due to last-minute amendments, careouts, or complications with charter cities. There will also be three residential property tax tiers, which will rise to four by 2026. The tiers will feature rate bands based on how a home's value compares to the statewide media, which currently sits at about $325,000. Commercial properties will run under their own system, and second homes and short-term rentals will be taxed 1.9 percent. 'These tax changes are in complete opposition to principles of tax fairness and efficiency,' said former state legislator Robert Story. 'It will take the Montana Department of Revenue many staff hours just to build a model capable of handling it all.' Montana government officials had mixed opinions over the passing of the two property tax relief bills Unless the rulings are reversed, about 230,000 homeowners may notice property cuts on their tax bills. Owner-occupied homes and long-term rentals' rates ill drop from 1.35 to 0.76 percent once they reach a property value of $325,000. Pipelines and other centrally assessed properties may will see price hikes thanks to a 12 percent tax that will be tackled onto their bills. While all appears to be set in stone, the new system could change depending on median values and rates for all property types. Meanwhile, a recent report showed how the dream of owning a home in America is becoming increasingly out of reach. In most states, a six-figure income is needed to afford an average-priced home. Nationally, homeowners must now earn $116,986 to afford a typical home. That's an increase of 50 percent from $78,236 in 2020, according to Bankrate's Housing Affordability Study. The study analyzed home sale prices to calculate monthly mortgage payments for every state and the District of Columbia — and worked out what annual salary would be needed to cover that.
