Compass Stock News

Real estate brokerage Compass sues Zillow for allegedly abusing monopoly power, claiming platform restrictions on listings violate antitrust laws.

At the heart of the rift is a disagreement over industry norms that could change how buyers shop and how sellers list homes.

Real estate brokerage Compass has reportedly sued Zillow for its ban on private home listings. [contact-form-7] The suit, filed Monday (June 23) in federal court in Manhattan, accuses Zillow of employing “anticompetitive tactics to protect its monopoly and revenues in violation of the antitrust laws,” the Associated Press (AP) reported.

Real estate company alleges that the ‘Zillow ban' prevents rivals from competing against it

The housing market is always competitive, but has become more fierce of late.

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.

Compass says that Zillow is violating antitrust laws by forcing listings onto its platform. In April, Zillow said that it would permanently ban listings that aren't widely available.

After relentlessly defending “seller choice,” Compass has filed suit against Zillow over private listings, with CEO Robert Reffkin claiming that the home search site is “abusing its monopoly power to ban homeowners and their agents” for marketing homes elsewhere.