Zillow loses access to thousands of home listings amid bitter legal feud

In a surprising turn of events on Wednesday, Zillow found itself without access to thousands of property listings in the Chicago area. This development follows the company's recent legal action against a private listing network owner, which alleges collusion with the country’s largest brokerage aimed at misleading consumers by concealing available homes. Reports from the Chicago Sun-Times indicate that potential homebuyers in the Chicagoland area experienced a drastic reduction in listings on both Zillow and Trulia. What was once a robust market of nearly 5,000 homes available for viewing on Zillow has plummeted to around 1,700 listings. While determined buyers can still search for properties on alternative platforms like Redfin and Realtor.com—where listings range from 5,000 to 8,000—the impact of this legal battle is being felt. Zillow's antitrust lawsuit, filed last week, asserts that the alleged collusion poses a risk to everyone involved in the home buying or selling process. The company specifically named Midwest Real Estate Data LLC (MRED) and Compass as key players in a conspiracy that creates “barriers to information” detrimental to sellers, buyers, and competitors. The lawsuit claims that these entities have been hiding real estate listings behind what Zillow describes as a velvet rope in a Private Listing Network (PLN). According to Zillow, MRED, which serves as Chicago’s multiple listing service (MLS) provider, has entered into a conspiracy with Compass, the leading brokerage in the area. This agreement reportedly aims to limit the transparency of available listings, preventing platforms like Zillow from increasing visibility for home seekers. Zillow’s complaint argues that rather than providing full access to listings, Compass has been leveraging its market dominance to conceal properties from anyone not utilizing a Compass agent, effectively creating an unfair competitive advantage. This strategy not only attracts prospective buyers with exclusive access but also allows Compass to profit from transactions where its agents represent both parties.