Property listings platform Zillow is being sued by real estate brokerage firm Compass over its new policy of banning private listings, as well as allegedly violating federal antitrust laws.

In April, Zillow announced that it would introduce a new policy, permanently banning any home listing that was not added to the Multiple Listing Service within the first 24 hours of the home being available on the market.

According to The New York Times, Compass filed the suit alleging that Zillow engaged in an anticompetitive conspiracy to maintain a monopoly over digital home listings.

Toward the end of 2024, Compass suggested that sellers use a three-phased marketing approach when listing a home. They could make the home visible only to Compass agents and clients as a “private” listing, or they could make it viewable only via Compass’ website. Alternatively, they could opt to make it public on sites like Zillow and Redfin further down in the process.

This approach led to Zillow pushing back, asserting in a statement that “a listing marketed to any buyer should be marketed to every buyer. This means in the MLS, on Zillow, and even on non-Zillow portals or brokerage sites.”

In the suit, Compass alleged that “to protect its market dominance, Zillow retaliated against competitive threats by enacting an exclusionary policy,” adding that Zillow cannot generate revenue when homes are not publicly listed, and it is using the “Zillow Ban” to block its competitors from participating on a level playing field.

Speaking to the Times, Compass founder and CEO Robert Reffkin said, “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. Consumers should have the right to choose how they sell their homes.”

For its part, Zillow is adhering to a 2019 policy, as set by the National Association of Realtors, which required agents to enter any new home for sale into a public listing database, called an MLS feed, within 24 hours of advertising it.

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.

According to a press release, the lawsuit seeks treble damages for the unlawful and anti-competitive conduct that forced PLS out of the market and deprived consumers and agents of a much-needed alternative to the outdated and monopolized MLS system.

The complaint alleges that NAR and its affiliated multiple listing services colluded to eliminate competition from PLS through the adoption and enforcement of the Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP) — a rule that mandates listings be submitted to a NAR-affiliated MLS within one business day of public marketing, effectively shutting down any viable pocket listing platforms.

The PLS had nearly 20,000 members in 2019, according to the lawsuit. The suit claims that NAR-affiliated MLSs jointly authored white papers, met behind closed doors, and orchestrated the CCP as a coordinated effort to suppress competition and that the CCP disproportionately benefits large brokerages while punishing small firms and innovative platforms.

“This lawsuit is about defending innovation and consumer choice in a market long dominated by entrenched gatekeepers,” said a spokesperson for PLS. “We created a platform that responded to growing demand for privacy, flexibility, and discretion — particularly in highly-competitive and high-profile markets — and were met with coordinated resistance from an organization with a vested interest in preserving the status quo.”

The CCP, passed by NAR in late 2019, has been the subject of intense public scrutiny, government investigations, and multiple lawsuits from agents, brokerages, and now platforms like PLS. The policy eliminated a valuable tool for consumers and agents: the ability to explore off-MLS options without coercive penalties.

“The CCP was never about cooperation—it was about control,” the spokesperson added. “The result is a marketplace that stifles innovation: Sellers lose the ability to quietly test the market, protect their privacy, or avoid the stigma of a price drop. Buyers miss out on incredible homes that never make it to public websites, especially in fast-moving markets. Agents are punished—fined, even—for doing what their clients ask, simply because it doesn’t go through NAR’s system. And ultimately, consumers pay more, because competition is blocked and innovation is shut out. That’s not how a modern, fair marketplace should work. We are proud to stand up and demand accountability.”

There’s trouble on the housing market—and this time, we’re not referring to high interest rates or prospective buyers’ bidding wars. According to a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on June 23, 2025, real estate brokerage company Compass is suing tech real estate company Zillow for allegedly gatekeeping listings and violating antitrust laws to maintain a “monopoly” over the digital home listing market. Yikes.

The filing follows Zillow’s Listing Access Standards policy, which was updated in May of 2025. In a release written for agents , Zillow stresses its principle that “If a listing is marketed to some buyers, it should be marketed to all buyers.” However, Compass is arguing that Zillow’s new guidelines (which are detailed in the release) invalidate this claim.

To summarize, as of June 30th, 2025, Zillow will begin blocking listings from both Zillow.com and Trulia.com that do not comply with their standards. Breach listings include those that are the following:

Publicly marketed but not entered into a Multiple Listing Service (MLS) or made available via the Internal Data Exchange (IDX) or Virtual Office Website (VOW) within one business day of being marketed.

(MLS) or made available via the Internal Data Exchange (IDX) or Virtual Office Website (VOW) within one business day of being marketed. Shared selectively with buyers who are not brokerage clients.

Publicly listed on a platform without being entered into the MLS.

Being offered as private deals off the MLS website.

Being publicly marketed with a “for sale” sign, on social media, open houses, virtual tours, or placement on a broker’s website.

Compass alleges that these standards amount to a “Zillow ban,” claiming in its suit that “To protect its market dominance, Zillow has retaliated against competitive threats by enacting an exclusionary policy […] Zillow uses the Zillow Ban to block real estate search rivals like Compass from competing head-to-head,” the suit reads.”

While the guidelines in Zillow’s Listing Access Standards may be seen as excessive, this policy isn’t new. It aligns with the National Association of Realtors’ requirement that any new home for sale needs to be listed in the MLS feed within 24 hours of advertising it for sale. What’s more, , Compass has also been accused of withholding listings in the past, as it has been accused of showing “private” listings to Compass-only agents. Another high-traffic real estate company, Redfin, has also recently rolled out its own set of policies (not unlike Zillow’s) that have raised eyebrows.

So, what does this all mean? Well, data from the National Association of Realtors shows that 100 percent of prospective home buyers use the internet for home searches, and Zillow is a dominant force in the digital listings category. The website receives a whopping 227 million unique users per month, offering roughly 160 million properties to peruse. Ergo, Compass suing Zillow is not only an attempt to level the playing field for competitors, but a power move to see who comes out on top. Only time will tell.

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NEW YORK (Reuters) -Compass, the largest U.S. residential real estate brokerage by sales volume, sued Zillow 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 and eXp Realty 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, 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.

In a statement, Zillow said it will defend vigorously against Compass’ claims, calling them unfounded.

“When a listing is publicly marketed, it should be accessible to all buyers – across all platforms,” Zillow said.

“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,” it added.

MARKET PRESSURES

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.