Zillow Responds to FTC Allegations Over Redfin Rental Listings Deal

The FTC first filed the lawsuit in September 2025 in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, alleging that Zillow’s agreement to become Redfin’s exclusive multifamily rental listings provider violated antitrust laws. According to a statement from the agency, the deal involved a $100 million arrangement reached earlier that year.

The legal challenge expanded in October when attorneys general from five states joined the case. The separate complaints were later consolidated into a single proceeding, per court records.

In a court filing submitted May 20, Zillow pushed back against the allegations and defended the partnership as beneficial to apartment hunters. The company argued that the agreement increased the volume of rental listings available through Redfin’s platform and broadened housing options for consumers, according to a statement contained in the filing.

Zillow also portrayed Redfin as financially strained before the partnership was finalized. The company said Redfin faced mounting debt and difficulties growing its rental inventory after acquiring RentPath in 2021, a company that had previously gone through bankruptcy proceedings.

“By late 2024, Redfin was buckling under more than $800 million in debt with no realistic path to becoming a meaningful competitor,” attorneys representing Zillow wrote in the filing. “Facing this bleak reality — not the rosy picture in the complaint (from the FTC) — Redfin decided to make a change and exclusively syndicate multifamily listings through a third party, ultimately selecting Zillow.”

Related: Zillow Sues Compass and Chicago’s MLS Over Private Listings Dispute

The response further stated that the agreement resulted in tens of thousands of additional apartment listings appearing on Redfin-operated websites, including more lower-priced units, per statement from Zillow’s legal team.

At the same time, Zillow acknowledged in its filing that the transaction was not reported to federal authorities under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. According to a statement on the FTC’s website, the law requires companies involved in certain transactions to notify federal antitrust regulators before deals are completed.

Earlier this year, Zillow and Redfin attempted to have the lawsuit dismissed, arguing that the partnership enhanced competition rather than restricted it. The companies said the plaintiffs had not demonstrated harm to renters or adequately defined the relevant advertising markets, according to court documents.

U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga rejected that request on May 6, allowing the case to proceed. In his ruling, the judge said the court must, at this phase of the litigation, view the allegations in the manner most favorable to the plaintiffs. He concluded that the FTC had presented claims that were sufficiently plausible to continue through the legal process.

The lawsuit now advances into the next stage of litigation as federal and state regulators continue to challenge the agreement between the two real estate firms.

Source: Real Estate News