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FTC settlement unwinds $100M deal
The Federal Trade Commission announced Monday that it settled anti-trust litigation against Zillow and Redfin alleging they colluded to limit competition in internet listing services for apartment rentals.
“Zillow and Redfin agreed to remove restrictions on Redfin’s ability to sell advertising services”
Under an FTC order, Zillow and Redfin must reverse a 2025 agreement in which Zillow paid Redfin $100 million to close its ILS service, repost apartment listings only provided by Zillow, shift its customers to Zillow and stay out of the ILS market for up to nine years.
The settlement requires Redfin to relaunch its rentals advertising business no longer than six months after the order is finalized, and to hire a general manager, sales staff and a fully trained customer support team for the ILS.
FTC Bureau of Competition director Daniel Guarnera said, "This settlement delivers better, quicker, more certain results for both renters and property management companies than we would have been able to achieve after prevailing at trial."
The FTC said the order will be active for 10 years and that Zillow agreed to smooth Redfin’s reentry by providing employee information enabling Redfin to interview Zillow employees.
States and executives frame it
The FTC said Monday it plans to file a stipulated order that removes restrictions on Redfin’s ability to compete against Zillow in the online rental listing market and requires Redfin to reenter the market, while the companies do not admit fault or liability.
New York Attorney General Letitia James said the lawsuit restored competition in online listing platforms, "critical tools that New Yorkers rely on to find affordable homes."
In a separate statement, Zillow welcomed resolution of the dispute with the FTC, saying, "This is good news for renters, housing providers and the rental market broadly."
Redfin said the resolution is a "significant win" for the company and consumers, and a spokesperson said the agreement allows it to maintain its rental partnership with Zillow through at least 2030 while building and investing in a standalone rentals business of its own.
The settlement also includes terms that for nine months after Redfin restarts its ILS business, Zillow must allow any ILS customer whose contract cannot be canceled within three months to renegotiate without penalty so they can benefit from the return of a key competitor.
Deadlines, compliance, and market impact
The stipulated order still needs approval of U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga, a George W. Bush appointee, and the terms go into effect in 2027 and remain in place for 10 years, according to Courthouse News.
“still needs the approval of U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga”
Under the order, Redfin must restart its rental advertising business within six months of Trenga’s approval, and the FTC said Redfin faces monetary penalties if it does not restart its ILS business within the prescribed timeframe.
The FTC said the order prohibits Zillow from preventing or impeding any ILS customer from entering into a contract with Redfin, and it also requires Zillow to waive any noncompete, anti-poaching or other impediments that might prevent Zillow employees from joining Redfin.
The FTC and states also said the settlement will restore competition in the online platforms that renters use to find apartments and property managers use to list rentals, and Bloomberg Law News reported that an FTC lawyer told a judge in federal court in Virginia that Redfin will re-enter the market to independently sell online rental listings.
In addition to the competitive changes, the settlement requires Zillow and Redfin to pay $2 million to reimburse state attorneys general who brought the case along with the agency, according to Bloomberg Law News.