Zillow and Redfin settle FTC antitrust case over rental listings
The settlement requires Redfin to re-enter the rental advertising market, resolving a dispute that regulators argued suppressed competition in the US rental sector.
Zillow and Redfin have reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and five state attorneys general, bringing an end to a legal dispute over a 2025 partnership that regulators alleged reduced competition in the rental-listing market. The agreement was announced on Monday, just before the case was scheduled to proceed to trial.
The dispute centred on a deal in which Zillow paid Redfin US$100 million to display Zillow’s rental listings on its platforms rather than competing directly for rental advertisers. Under the original arrangement, Redfin, which owns the major rental-listing platforms Rent.com and ApartmentGuide.com, agreed to exit the rental advertising business for up to nine years.
The FTC and the attorneys general of Arizona, Connecticut, New York, Virginia, and Washington argued that the partnership effectively saw Zillow paying a major competitor to stop competing. Regulators contended this could allow Zillow to charge higher prices and offer less favourable terms to property managers, while potentially reducing the quality of rental listings available to consumers.
The two companies had defended the partnership as a strategic move to provide renters with access to a larger pool of listings. However, the proposed settlement now requires Redfin to re-enter the rental advertising business, a move intended to restore competitive pressure in the multifamily rental market.
Under the new terms, restrictions that previously limited Redfin’s ability to compete independently for property-management customers have been removed. Redfin will be permitted to sell advertising, display listings from its own clients, and pursue new rental customers without being required to share sensitive business information with Zillow.
The relationship between the two firms does not end entirely, as Redfin may continue to display Zillow’s rental listings. The case follows a similar antitrust settlement involving Ticketmaster, highlighting a broader regulatory focus on dominant companies using their market power to suppress competition.
