Compass files lawsuit against Zillow over home listings policy
[June 24, 2025] By
MICHELLE CHAPMAN
Real estate brokerage company Compass has filed a lawsuit against Zillow,
claiming the popular real estate website is refusing to accept home
listings for properties that have been initially advertised for sale
elsewhere.
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.
Home sellers generally benefit from having their home advertised to as
many potential home shoppers as possible. More interested buyers often
can translate to multiple offers, which helps sellers ensure their
property sells for the best price the market can offer.
But one drawback to listing a home on the multiple listing services, or
MLS, and large listing search sites like Zillow, is that such listings
show how long a home has been on the market and whether it has had any
price reductions over time. Such information can be a signal to
potential buyers that they may have more leverage to negotiate a lower
price, or other concessions, from the seller.
To mitigate this, Compass and other brokerages give sellers the option
to initially just share their home listing internally among their own
brokers, avoiding the internet and the MLS, what is known in the real
estate industry as a pocket listing or office exclusive.
Compass also gives sellers the option to make their listing public — but
on the brokerage’s own website. These listings also don’t display how
long a property has been on the market or whether it has had its price
reduced.
The listings can be found by real estate agents from other brokerages
who search the site, but the properties don’t appear on Zillow or
similar sites.
Compass contends that, as a result of Zillow’s current policy, homes
listed for more than a day on Compass.com would not be included on
Zillow once the seller opts to advertise them more broadly.
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A sign advertising a home for sale is seen in Orange County near
Hillsborough, N.C. Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome,
File)
 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.
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AP Business Writer Alex Veiga contributed.
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