Latest news with #ZillowBan
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Real estate company Compass sues Zillow over consumers 'right to choose'
One of the largest U.S. residential real estate brokerage firms is taking on real estate giant Zillow over "consumer choice." On Monday, real estate brokerage Compass filed a 60-page complaint in Manhattan federal court, claiming that Zillow is improperly refusing to list homes on its site that were first listed elsewhere. "The Zillow Ban seeks to ensure that all home listings in this country are steered on to its dominant search platform so Zillow can monetize each home listing and protect its monopoly," the complaint states, addin that "[i]n a free and competitive market, competitors' products and strategies should rise and fall on merit—not the whims of a monopolist gatekeeper like Zillow." "This lawsuit is about protecting consumer choice," Compass Founder & CEO Robert Reffkin said in a statement to FOX Business. "No one company should have the power to ban agents or listings simply because they don't follow that company's business model. That's not competition. It's coercion. Imagine if Amazon banned a seller for offering a product on their own website first. That's what Zillow is doing in real estate. Consumers should have the right to choose how they sell their homes." Real Estate Giants Crack Down On Exclusive 'Off-market' Home Listings In Major Shift For Buyers Compass, based in Manhattan, is seeking an injunction against Zillow to force them to change their practices, as well as monetary damages. Read On The Fox Business App Home Sellers Face Harsh New Reality As Listings Hit Record $69B Value Zillow, based in Seattle, has about 160 million homes in its database, receives 227 million unique visitors a month and received 2.4 billion visits between January and March, according to Reuters. They called Compass' claims "unfounded" and told FOX Business that it "will vigorously defend against them." "When a listing is publicly marketed, it should be accessible to all buyers – across all platforms, including Zillow," a statement from a Zillow spokesperson said. Click Here To Read More On Fox Business "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," the spokesperson added. Reuters contributed to this report. Original article source: Real estate company Compass sues Zillow over consumers 'right to choose' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Time of India
24-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Compass files lawsuit against Zillow over private home listings policy
Real estate brokerage company Compass has filed a lawsuit against Zillow over its policy to ban private home listings. In a filing with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Compass claims that "Zillow has sought to rely on anticompetitive tactics to protect its monopoly and revenues in violation of the antitrust laws." Compass says that Zillow has implemented an exclusionary policy that says if a home seller and their real estate agent market their property off Zillow for more than one day, that Zillow and its allies, Redfin and eXp Realty, will ban that home from being listed on their search platforms. "The Zillow Ban seeks to ensure that all home listings in this country are steered on to its dominant search platform so Zillow can monetize each home listing and protect its monopoly," Compass said in the lawsuit. Compass alleges that the 'Zillow Ban' was enacted to prevent rivals from competing against it and reduces homeowner choice. "In a free and competitive market, competitors' products and strategies should rise and fall on merit-not the whims of a monopolist gatekeeper like Zillow," Compass said. Compass wants an injunction that would prohibit Zillow from implementing and enforcing its 'Zillow Ban' and implementing and enforcing similar policies. The company also wants a trial by jury and an unspecified amount in damages. Zillow did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The housing market is always competitive, but has become more fierce of late. Last month the National Association of Realtors reported that sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in April, as elevated mortgage rates and rising prices discouraged prospective homebuyers during what's traditionally the busiest time of the year for the housing market. Existing home sales dropped 0.5% in April, from March, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors. The sales decline marked the slowest sales pace for the month of April going back to 2009 in the wake of the U.S. housing crisis. March's sales pace was also the slowest for that month going back to 2009. Sales of existing homes barely moved in May, with existing home sales up 0.8% last month from April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.03 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Monday. Stubbornly high mortgage rates and rising prices made homebuying less affordable even as the inventory of properties on the market continued to increase. There's also been the issue of more sellers than homebuyers, with potential buyers skittish over high prices and mortgage rates. As of April, the U.S. housing market had nearly 34% more sellers than buyers shopping for a home, according to an analysis by Redfin. Aside from April 2020, when the pandemic brought the economy and home sales activity to a standstill, there haven't been this few buyers in the market for a home before, based on records that date back to 2013.
UPI
24-06-2025
- Business
- UPI
Compass sues Zillow over new rule in home listings fight
Compass is suing home listings search giant Zillow over a new rule that the real estate brokerage firm claims is meant to create a digital monopoly. File Photo by Alexis C. Glenn/UPI | License Photo 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.
CNN
23-06-2025
- Business
- CNN
Compass sues Zillow as fight over privately marketed listings heats up
Compass has officially brought a long-simmering real estate dispute into the courtroom. On Monday, the real estate brokerage sued home-search website Zillow, accusing it of engaging in an anticompetitive conspiracy to maintain its dominance over digital home listings. Compass' lawsuit marks a new phase in the battle between real estate's largest brokerages and home search engines over control of home listings. If Compass' lawsuit succeeds, it could transform how and where real estate listings are shared online. Zillow says it's working in the interests of consumer transparency and that Compass is trying to hoard listings. Compass says that Zillow adds costs to the home-buying process. In the internet age, most home shoppers turn to home search engines to begin their search, and Zillow is the powerhouse player in that space: 80% of home searchers go directly to Zillow's website when looking for a new home, according to a February investor presentation from the company. The source of Compass' complaint, which was filed on Monday in a New York federal court, is a new rule from Zillow stating that any home listing publicly marketed to consumers anywhere must be published on Zillow within one day or it won't be allowed to be published on Zillow at all. Compass referred to the rule as the 'Zillow ban' in its lawsuit. Compass claimed the rule, which took effect on May 28 and will be enforced starting June 30, is designed to crush competition in the home search space. '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,' the lawsuit said. Zillow has disputed Compass' characterization, stating that the lawsuit is unfounded and the new rule was enacted in the spirit of fairness. Zillow has said its new policy is in response to sales tactics that have gained popularity over the past year, which limit the visibility of home listings. '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.' Compass' lawsuit comes at a time when the company has faced growing pushback from some of its peers in the real estate industry for its '3-phased marketing strategy' for home sellers. The strategy begins with a private listing to 'test' a home's sales price. Then, during the 'coming soon' phase, listings are showcased on Compass' website to generate buyer interest before they 'officially' hit the market. The final phase is to 'go live on all platforms,' meaning the home listing is publicly available for real estate agents and home shoppers to view across all home search engines. As of mid-February, approximately 35% of all Compass listings were listed as 'Compass Private Exclusive' or 'Compass Coming Soon,' the company's CEO, Robert Reffkin, said on an earnings call. Critics have argued that Compass' private listing strategy unfairly pushes home sellers to make deals with buyers represented by other Compass agents, resulting in the brokerage collecting a commission from both sides of a home's sale. Compass denies that it encourages sellers to enter private transactions. In Monday's lawsuit, the company said many sellers choose its 3-phase marketing route because homes listed on Zillow are displayed with 'negative insights,' including a 'Zestimate' that estimates the property's value and a 'Climate Risks' section that shows whether a home is susceptible to certain hazards, such as wildfires or floods. 'This lawsuit is about protecting consumer choice,' Reffkin told CNN. Zillow has said such features are included to provide transparency to home shoppers. Compass says the 'Zillow ban' complicates its marketing strategy. Although the rule doesn't directly prohibit private listings, homes listed on Compass' website as 'coming soon' must be published on Zillow within 24 hours. The 'Zillow ban' piggybacks on a 2019 policy, called Clear Cooperation, that was established by the National Association of Realtors, the trade association that often sets the rules for real estate professionals. That policy says that if a real estate agent publicly markets a property (such as by putting it on a website, sending it in an email or posting on social media), they must submit that listing to their local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) within one business day. The MLS is a cooperative database used by real estate agents to share property listings in a streamlined manner. Compass also accused Zillow of conspiring with other players in the real estate industry, its home search competitor Redfin and brokerage eXp Realty, to maintain its market dominance. Both Redfin and eXp Realty agreed to adopt and adhere to Zillow's new rule after it was announced. While Compass accused Redfin and eXp Realty of being co-conspirators, they were not named as defendants in the suit. In a statement, eXp Realty said 'any implication of co-conspiracy is categorically false' and that its business strategies are developed independently. 'It's ironic that Compass, a company that's never turned a profit, is choosing to burn cash and credibility on a lawsuit. And suing Zillow for giving consumers access? That's not strategy, that's desperation,' said Leo Pareja, the CEO of eXp Realty. Redfin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
CNN
23-06-2025
- Business
- CNN
Compass sues Zillow as fight over privately marketed listings heats up
Compass has officially brought a long-simmering real estate dispute into the courtroom. On Monday, the real estate brokerage sued home-search website Zillow, accusing it of engaging in an anticompetitive conspiracy to maintain its dominance over digital home listings. Compass' lawsuit marks a new phase in the battle between real estate's largest brokerages and home search engines over control of home listings. If Compass' lawsuit succeeds, it could transform how and where real estate listings are shared online. Zillow says it's working in the interests of consumer transparency and that Compass is trying to hoard listings. Compass says that Zillow adds costs to the home-buying process. In the internet age, most home shoppers turn to home search engines to begin their search, and Zillow is the powerhouse player in that space: 80% of home searchers go directly to Zillow's website when looking for a new home, according to a February investor presentation from the company. The source of Compass' complaint, which was filed on Monday in a New York federal court, is a new rule from Zillow stating that any home listing publicly marketed to consumers anywhere must be published on Zillow within one day or it won't be allowed to be published on Zillow at all. Compass referred to the rule as the 'Zillow ban' in its lawsuit. Compass claimed the rule, which took effect on May 28 and will be enforced starting June 30, is designed to crush competition in the home search space. '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,' the lawsuit said. Zillow has disputed Compass' characterization, stating that the lawsuit is unfounded and the new rule was enacted in the spirit of fairness. Zillow has said its new policy is in response to sales tactics that have gained popularity over the past year, which limit the visibility of home listings. '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.' Compass' lawsuit comes at a time when the company has faced growing pushback from some of its peers in the real estate industry for its '3-phased marketing strategy' for home sellers. The strategy begins with a private listing to 'test' a home's sales price. Then, during the 'coming soon' phase, listings are showcased on Compass' website to generate buyer interest before they 'officially' hit the market. The final phase is to 'go live on all platforms,' meaning the home listing is publicly available for real estate agents and home shoppers to view across all home search engines. As of mid-February, approximately 35% of all Compass listings were listed as 'Compass Private Exclusive' or 'Compass Coming Soon,' the company's CEO, Robert Reffkin, said on an earnings call. Critics have argued that Compass' private listing strategy unfairly pushes home sellers to make deals with buyers represented by other Compass agents, resulting in the brokerage collecting a commission from both sides of a home's sale. Compass denies that it encourages sellers to enter private transactions. In Monday's lawsuit, the company said many sellers choose its 3-phase marketing route because homes listed on Zillow are displayed with 'negative insights,' including a 'Zestimate' that estimates the property's value and a 'Climate Risks' section that shows whether a home is susceptible to certain hazards, such as wildfires or floods. 'This lawsuit is about protecting consumer choice,' Reffkin told CNN. Zillow has said such features are included to provide transparency to home shoppers. Compass says the 'Zillow ban' complicates its marketing strategy. Although the rule doesn't directly prohibit private listings, homes listed on Compass' website as 'coming soon' must be published on Zillow within 24 hours. The 'Zillow ban' piggybacks on a 2019 policy, called Clear Cooperation, that was established by the National Association of Realtors, the trade association that often sets the rules for real estate professionals. That policy says that if a real estate agent publicly markets a property (such as by putting it on a website, sending it in an email or posting on social media), they must submit that listing to their local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) within one business day. The MLS is a cooperative database used by real estate agents to share property listings in a streamlined manner. Compass also accused Zillow of conspiring with other players in the real estate industry, its home search competitor Redfin and brokerage eXp Realty, to maintain its market dominance. Both Redfin and eXp Realty agreed to adopt and adhere to Zillow's new rule after it was announced. While Compass accused Redfin and eXp Realty of being co-conspirators, they were not named as defendants in the suit. In a statement, eXp Realty said 'any implication of co-conspiracy is categorically false' and that its business strategies are developed independently. 'It's ironic that Compass, a company that's never turned a profit, is choosing to burn cash and credibility on a lawsuit. And suing Zillow for giving consumers access? That's not strategy, that's desperation,' said Leo Pareja, the CEO of eXp Realty. Redfin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
