Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) has announced that it will suspend property listing data feeds to Zillow Group websites, including Zillow.com and Trulia.com, unless Zillow cures its violation of its license agreements and MRED’s rules by May 19 at midnight CDT. MRED reserves the right to terminate Zillow’s license based on Zillow’s material breach of its license agreements by suppressing display of listings on its websites.
“The rules of this MLS exist to protect every participating broker and every consumer who relies on a complete and accurate picture of the market,” said Rebecca Jensen, president and CEO of MRED. “Those rules apply equally to every participant, regardless of the size of their audience or the reach of their platform. MRED enforces its rules consistently and fairly, and hopes that Zillow returns to operating consistent with its longstanding agreements with MRED.”
Two weeks ago, Zillow notified MRED of its intention to exclude display of certain listings submitted by MRED participating brokers based on the lawful marketing practices of those brokers. MRED notified Zillow that those exclusions violated its license agreements and asked Zillow to cure those violations.
MRED notified Zillow that its compliance window closes on May 19 at midnight. MRED will not suspend Zillow’s data feed if it brings its websites into compliance. If Zillow’s IDX and VOW data feeds are interrupted, MRED listings will continue to be published on thousands of compliant consumer-facing websites.
In response, Zillow filed a federal lawsuit, but Zillow has not yet responded to MRED’s requests that Zillow display all MRED listings in a manner consistent with Zillow’s IDX and VOW licenses and MRED’s rules by making all MRED listings that are active and authorized for distribution visible on Zillow’s platforms.
If the IDX and VOW data feed suspension is necessary, that action will not affect listings populated in ShowingTime or dotLoop.
According to sources close to the dispute who provided RISMedia with background, Zillow recently chose to stop displaying some of MRED’s listings, prompting MRED to insist that Zillow return to compliance or face consequences under standard MLS enforcement processes. MRED has repeatedly warned Zillow for about a year that a particular policy violates the license and that it cannot look the other way or treat Zillow as a special case, emphasizing equal treatment of all participants.
According to MRED, Zillow has acknowledged being out of compliance in emails to MRED customers and is “weaponizing” the IDX feed by selectively withholding display of certain brokers’ listings—specifically referencing Compass and listings outside Chicago—thereby favoring some brokers over others.
Sources compared the dispute in the context of earlier industry litigation over selective opt-out, where large brokers attempted to exclude competitors’ listings from online display, leading to DOJ involvement and rules requiring any display limits to be based on objective criteria (such as property type or price segment) rather than brokerage identity.
MRED contends that Zillow’s current approach mirrors those discredited practices by conditioning display on the brokerage handling the listing and potentially opening the door to future restrictions unrelated to the characteristics of the home itself.
Operationally, MRED describes a standard process: when a website is found out of compliance, notice is given and a defined period is allowed for correction, recognizing that technical issues can occur; in this case, Zillow has been notified, understands it is out of compliance, and is choosing not to remedy the violations by the specified “drop dead” date.
Sources explained that if Zillow returns to compliance, business will continue as usual, but if not, MRED will proceed with the consequences already outlined, while noting that Zillow has already filed a lawsuit against MRED and that Zillow’s current stance appears unlikely to change, though the decision ultimately rests with Zillow.
The choice to comply with MRED’s reasonable IDX and VOW rules—and avoid feed interruption—is Zillow’s to make. MRED hopes that Zillow makes the right choice, for the sake of all of MRED’s brokers, agents, sellers, buyers and the rest of the MLS marketplace that relies on an orderly system of cooperation.
