Zillow settles FTC claims it paid Redfin to stop competing on apartment listings
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), along with five states, reached a settlement with Zillow regarding allegations that the real estate platform illegally paid $100 million to Redfin in exchange for ceasing competition in rental listing services. The deal was set to go to trial but has now been resolved without further legal action. Under terms of the agreement, Redfin will continue its partnership with Zillow through 2030 while resuming its own rental advertising business within six months. The FTC and states had argued that the arrangement between Zillow and Redfin led to higher costs for landlords and reduced listing quality for renters. The deal was made in February 2025, where Redfin agreed to stop competing with Zillow on apartment listings for up to nine years while receiving payments from Zillow. Experts estimated a post-deal price increase of 14.5% per listing. Zillow defended the partnership as beneficial by increasing available rental listings and helping it compete against CoStar Group, the market leader in real estate data.
Topics: antitrust FTC settlement real estate