Zillow loses thousands of listings in fight over “hidden” homes

Key Points:

• Zillow lost access to thousands of Chicago-area property listings after filing an antitrust lawsuit accusing Midwest Real Estate Data LLC (MRED) and Compass of colluding to hide homes in a Private Listing Network (PLN) to harm consumers and competitors by limiting transparency.
• Zillow alleges MRED and Compass conspired to restrict listing visibility, allowing Compass to attract buyers exclusively through its agents and engineer deals benefiting its brokerage, thereby reducing market access for buyers and sellers.
• MRED contends Zillow breached contract terms, causing the loss of access, and has moved to compel arbitration, dismissing Zillow’s claims as meritless and a contract dispute; Compass defends seller choice in marketing and criticizes Zillow’s attempt to impose uniform policies.
• The dispute intensified after Zillow implemented Listing Access Standards to block privately marketed listings, leading MRED and Compass to threaten termination of Zillow’s access to all listings if certain private listings were not displayed, escalating the conflict.
• Zillow warns that the alleged conspiracy by MRED and Compass restricts market transparency, worsens housing affordability and accessibility, and undermines competition at a time when U.S. homebuyers already face high prices and mortgage rates.