Zillow is scheduled to start their ban this week, but this lawsuit should pause everything. Wouldn’t it make sense for the DOJ to step in and voice their opinion right about now to help guide us to the eventual conclusion? Or will they continue to stand by and just let the courts handle it?
Compass Team,
Compass is suing Zillow for abusing its monopoly power to ban homeowners and their agents for marketing homes off Zillow’s website. Zillow’s ban is designed to make it nearly impossible for homeowners to sell their home off Zillow so they can force all listings onto their platform to be monetized.
This isn’t just about platforms or policies – it’s about your clients. When a company restricts where and how a home can be marketed, it takes away choice from the homeowner and limits your ability to deliver the best outcome for them.
No one company should have the power to ban agents, homeowners and their 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. They have made their position clear: giving sellers and agents the choice to market outside Zillow’s website threatens their bottom line and monopolistic control.
The lawsuit is very clear in its focus. First, Zillow has leveraged its monopoly power to impose the Zillow listings ban on the market which is a clear violation of federal antitrust law. And second, Zillow colluded with Redfin and eXp to jointly pressure Compass to follow rules that serve Zillow – not homeowners or agents – which is also a clear violation of federal antitrust law.
To lead this effort, Compass has hired Ken Dintzer, the Department of Justice lawyer who successfully sued Google for monopolizing online search and stifling competition, to sue Zillow for using its monopoly to stifle competition.
Going forward, your Sales Manager will keep you informed of any updates. In the meantime, it’s business as usual for all of us. Our focus will remain on what matters most: giving you every edge to better serve your clients. My advice to all of you now is double down on your business. As the market slowly comes back into balance, this is a great time to lean into every tool, program, and marketing advantage we offer.
Compass is standing up for your clients, for agents, and for homeowner choice. If your clients ask about this, let them know: Compass is standing up to protect their right to choose how their home is marketed.
Robert
The brokerage also named eXp Realty and Redfin as co-conspirators, alleging the firms engaged in anticompetitive practices by agreeing to adopt and adhere to Zillow’s new listing standards policy. Compass is asking the court to block what it calls the “Zillow Ban.”
“To protect its market dominance, Zillow has retaliated against competitive threats by enacting an exclusionary policy,” Compass said in the complaint.
Private listings have become the industry’s hot-button issue in the last year after Compass emerged as a vocal leader in a public campaign to repeal the National Association of Realtors’ Clear Cooperation Policy, which requires listings to be uploaded to the multiple listing service within 24 hours of public marketing.
The campaign coincided with Compass’ unveiling of its three-phase marketing strategy, which encourages sellers to withhold listings from being added to the MLS without first being marketed as office exclusives and coming soon listings.
Seems odd that group A is upset that group B wont allow then to sell their products through group Bs marketing mechanism (zestimates).
Group A doesnt let group B sell through their marketing mechanism (private/pocket listing database)
Instead of fighting Zillow giving lawyers a bunch of money Compas should create their own version of zillow.
Instead of fighting Zillow giving lawyers a bunch of money Compas should create their own version of zillow.
We have homes.com standing by with the solution. All we need is more people on our side.
If Keller Williams and/or another big brokerage joins us, then we can get close to critical mass and quit NAR/MLS and chart the new path forward.