Latest news with #ZillowBan
Business Insider
4 hours ago
- Business
- Business Insider
The fight over real estate listings heats up as Compass targets 'Zillow ban' in new lawsuit
Compass is going to war with Zillow. The outcome could greatly shape the future of finding your dream home. On Monday, Compass, one of the nation's largest real estate brokerages, filed an antitrust suit against Zillow, arguing that the most popular destination for online home buyers is breaking antitrust law by banning listings that don't meet its guidelines. At issue is Zillow's policy, which permanently bans any listing that is posted elsewhere but not on the well-trafficked website within 24 hours. Compass calls this a "Zillow ban." "The Zillow Ban seeks to ensure that all home listings in this country are steered onto its dominant search platform so Zillow can monetize each home listing and protect its monopoly," the lawsuit reads. Zillow said in April that it was changing its policy so that all homebuyers had access to the same information. Many agents use a multiple listing service, or MLS, a local database that makes listings widely available online, including to companies like Zillow. Brokerages like Compass have increasingly found ways to selectively post some listings before they get shared more widely via the MLS. These so-called hidden listings offer select agents and then later, the public early access to properties exclusive to the broker. Zillow has argued that these listing practices create an uneven information playing field for homebuyers and favor large brokers. "Zillow is an unfriendly place for home listings, which is one of the reasons home sellers have welcomed Compass's strategy," the lawsuit reads. As BI previously reported, Zillow's declaration came amid an uneasy time in the real estate market. Existing home sales remain slow, agents are facing pressure over their commissions, and the rules for the entire process are getting overhauled. Zillow said in response to the suit that Compass's claims are "unfounded" and the company is prepared to mount a vigorous defense. "Our listing access standards are designed to ensure transparency, equal opportunity, and broad visibility for everyone so sellers can maximize price and time to sell and so buyers have access to all available inventory," a Zillow spokesperson said in a statement to Business Insider. "These practices are widely supported by most brokerages, consumer advocates and fair housing experts, because open access and maximum exposure lead to better outcomes for buyers, sellers and agents alike." When it released its policy, Zillow cited the National Association of Realtors' own guidelines. Compass's suit says that Zillow lobbied to strengthen the trade group's standards to block practices like Compass' "Private Exclusive" listings. When those efforts failed, Compass says Zillow rolled out its listing policy. It's not just Zillow that Compass is targeting. Compass says that Zillow conspired with Redfin and eXp Realty to implement their own similar bans. Representatives for those companies didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
5 hours ago
- Business
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. A Zillow spokesperson said in a statement on Monday that the company believes the claims in the lawsuit are unfounded and that it will vigorously defend against them. "Our focus remains on creating a level playing field that serves the best interests of everyone in the home buying and selling journey,' the spokesperson said. 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.
The Guardian
5 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Compass sues Zillow over ‘monopoly tactics' in private home listings
Real estate brokerage company Compass has filed a lawsuit against Zillow over its policy to ban private home listings. In a filing with the US 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. A Zillow spokesperson said in a statement on Monday that the company believes the claims in the lawsuit are unfounded and that it will vigorously defend against them. 'Our focus remains on creating a level playing field that serves the best interests of everyone in the home buying and selling journey,' the spokesperson said. 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 US 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 US housing crisis. March's sales pace was also the slowest for that month going back to 2009.
New York Post
5 hours ago
- Business
- New York Post
Compass sues over ‘Zillow Ban,' claiming platform's policy protects monopoly over home listings
Real estate brokerage company Compass has filed a lawsuit against Zillow over its policy to ban private home listings. In a filing with the US 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. Compass claims that 'Zillow has sought to rely on anticompetitive tactics to protect its monopoly and revenues in violation of the antitrust laws.' Christopher Sadowski '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. The lawsuit alleges that 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. Zillow 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 US 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 US 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 US 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.
Reuters
5 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Compass sues Zillow for allegedly stifling competition for home listings
NEW YORK, June 23 (Reuters) - Compass (COMP.N), opens new tab, the largest U.S. residential real estate brokerage by sales volume, sued Zillow (ZG.O), opens new tab on Monday, accusing the nation's largest online real estate portal of violating federal antitrust law by conspiring to restrict private home listings. In a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, Compass said Zillow employs an "exclusionary" policy where if sellers and their agents market homes off Zillow for more than one day, Zillow and its brokerage "allies" Redfin (RDFN.O), opens new tab and eXp Realty (EXPI.O), opens new tab will ban those homes from their platforms. Compass said the "Zillow ban" is designed to steer all U.S. home listings to Zillow's platform, and ensure that the company can maintain a monopoly while boosting profit. "Zillow's ambitions are clear: it wants to use its monopoly power in home search to own every facet of the home selling and buying process," thereby "crushing competition" in the home search market, according to the complaint. Compass, based in Manhattan, is seeking an injunction against the Zillow ban, compensatory damages, and triple damages for Zillow's alleged willful misconduct. Redfin and eXp were not named as defendants. Zillow did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Seattle-based company said it 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. Leo Pareja, eXp's chief executive, said in a statement that eXp developed its strategies in response to market conditions, and "any implication of co-conspiracy is categorically false." Redfin did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Compass sued as rising prices and elevated mortgage rates deter some prospective homebuyers, causing the pace of home sales to stagnate. While the National Association of Realtors on Monday said U.S. sales of existing homes rose 0.8% in May from April to a seasonally adjusted 4.03 million unit annual rate, May's sales pace was the slowest for that month since 2009. The inventory of existing homes, meanwhile, rose 6% to 1.54 million units in May. Supply increased 20% from a year earlier. Compass said Zillow is undermining its strategy of first releasing some listings to agents and buyers as Private Exclusives, and then posting the listings to its public search platform in a "Coming Soon" phase. Zillow plans on June 30 to start blocking, opens new tab listings that are publicly marketed for more than one day before appearing in a public listing database, known as a multiple listing service. That prohibition also covers Trulia, a real estate portal that Zillow bought for $2 billion in 2015. The case is Compass Inc v Zillow Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 25-05201.
