Compass sues Zillow over new rule in home listings fight
June 23 (UPI) -- Compass is suing Zillow over what it calls the "Zillow ban," a new rule that the real estate brokerage firm claims is meant to control home listings and crush the home search competition.
Compass filed the lawsuit against the listings giant Monday in a New York federal court. The company argues Zillow's new rule, which took effect on May 28, violates antitrust laws by forcing all listings to be published on Zillow within a day. Non-compliers are told they will be banned from the website.
"It was adopted to harm a competitive threat, it eliminates a new and innovative business model that creates competitive differentiation in the market and it reduces homeowner choice," Compass wrote in the lawsuit.
"The Zillow Ban is designed to make it hard, indeed nearly impossible, for home sellers to sell their home outside of Zillow, in an effort to force all listings to be on Zillow where Zillow makes money selling leads off the homeowners' listings," according to the complaint.
Zillow, which draws 227 million new visitors every month and makes money through ads on its listings, argues the new rule is meant to provide more visibility to homes that are for sale.
"At the heart of this issue is a simple principle: when a listing is publicly marketed, it should be accessible to all buyers -- across all platforms, including Zillow," a Zillow spokesperson said in a statement.
"Hiding listings creates a fragmented market, limits consumer choice and creates barriers to homeownership, which is bad for buyers, sellers and the industry at large, especially in this inventory and affordability-constrained environment."
According to Zillow, the real estate fight is over what is called the Clear Cooperation Policy. The rule limits semi-secretly marketed homes, which are created for "off-market" deals. Compass has promoted its Private Exclusives channel, which provides access to luxury, off-market listings.
"Zillow believes the claims in this lawsuit are unfounded and will vigorously defend against them," added the company spokesperson.
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