FTC and Five States Reach Settlement with Zillow and Redfin

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and five states have reached a settlement with Zillow and Redfin, ending a legal fight over a 2025 partnership that the FTC claimed hurt competition in the rental-listing market.

The case stems from a deal announced last year in which Redfin agreed to display Zillow’s rental listings on its websites rather than compete directly with Zillow for rental advertisers. This arrangement could have kept Redfin out of the rental advertising business for as long as nine years.

Redfin owns Rent.com and ApartmentGuide.com, two major rental-listing platforms. According to the FTC and attorneys general from Arizona, Connecticut, New York, Virginia, and Washington, Zillow agreed to pay Redfin $100 million to keep Redfin from competing with Zillow.

The companies defended the partnership as a way to give renters access to a larger pool of listings. However, the FTC argued that Zillow was paying one of its largest competitors to stop competing, potentially allowing the company to charge higher prices and provide less favorable terms to property managers. This could have also reduced the quality of rental listings available to consumers.

Terms of the Settlement

Under the proposed settlement, Redfin will be required to reenter the rental advertising business. The order also removes restrictions that previously limited Redfin’s ability to compete independently for property-management customers.

The settlement doesn’t completely end the relationship between the two companies. Redfin can continue displaying Zillow’s rental listings, but it will once again be able to compete for its own customers. Redfin will be able 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 Zillow-Redfin case comes just months after the DOJ’s settlement with Ticketmaster, another antitrust case involving allegations that a dominant company used its power to suppress competition. However, 26 of the 30 state attorneys general who initially sued Live Nation alongside the DOJ chose to continue pursuing the case and won their lawsuit in April.

The implications of this settlement will be closely watched by industry observers and regulators, as it highlights the ongoing efforts to promote competition and protect consumers in the rapidly evolving digital marketplace.

As the regulatory landscape continues to shift, it is essential for companies to prioritize transparency and fair competition in their business practices.

Conclusion

The settlement between Zillow and Redfin marks a significant development in the ongoing effort to promote competition in the rental-listing market. By requiring Redfin to reenter the rental advertising business and removing restrictions on its ability to compete independently, the settlement aims to level the playing field and protect consumers from potential anti-competitive practices.