A federal judge handed the National Association of Realtors (NAR) a major legal win today, throwing out a lawsuit by two brokers and an agent in Michigan, who had claimed that rules restricting MLS access violated federal and state antitrust laws. Douglas Hardy, Glenn Champion and Dylan Trent filed the lawsuit all the way back…
Borrowers and buyers suing Zillow for alleged RESPA violations and racketeering laid out new arguments in court filings last week, largely focused on pushing back against the portal’s contention that their lawsuit lacks legal merit while emphasizing their case hinges on agents’ obligations to represent clients’ best interests. The case, composed of two consolidated class-action…
In its lawsuit against Zillow focused on alleged infringement of copyrighted photos, CoStar Group is adding new allegations today, claiming that Zillow is continuing to “publish” images it has watermarked and identified, including some that were previously removed by the portal after the lawsuit was filed. Originally filed back in the June of 2025, CoStar…
So-called “premarket” listings appear to be the next big trend for the industry. Zillow’s recent pivot to host what are essentially “Coming Soon” properties (and a mad rush by brokers to strike deals with the portal or other consumer platforms) was an overwhelming affirmation that real estate believes that, to some degree, limited marketing options…
Just under nine months after filing a bombshell lawsuit against Zillow, Compass is dropping its legal challenge after the portal quietly modified its “Listing Access Standards” yesterday. The lawsuit had claimed that Zillow conspired with fellow portal Redfin to prevent Compass from implementing its “three-phased marketing plan” that involves a private listing phase. Last April,…
The mad dash for premarket power is showing no signs of slowing, as mega-brokerage eXp announced that it is striking a listing partnership with Realtor.com®, Homes.com and ComeHome.com (HouseCanary’s portal in Google Search), just 24 hours after Zillow launched a similar partnership with five other big national companies. Starting next month, eXp agents will be…
It was April of 2025 that portal behemoth Zillow announced its “listing access standards,” taking a hard stance against so-called “selective access” to listings. As some brokerages—most notably Compass—pushed for “private exclusive” marketing plans, Zillow argued that properties for sale should be listed everywhere. Just under a year later, the company has joined what has…
Above, Howard “Hoby” Hanna Amid the broader—and increasingly complex—debate over private listings, one of the more independent-minded independent brokerages announced this week that it is launching its own private network as a “strategic initiative,” balancing the demand for so-called “seller choice” with MLS policies the company has previously criticized. HannaList, announced this week by Howard…
Editor’s note: This is part two of a two-part story examining the impact of the Redfin-Compass deal. Read part one here. “Real estate isn’t a transaction. It’s a process.” Those words, from Compass CEO Robert Reffkin on the company’s recent earnings call, were in response to a question about how Compass agents can communicate value…
Editor’s note: This is part one of a two-part story examining the impact of the Redfin-Compass deal. Look for part two in the coming days. “The future is bright. Look forward to building it with you.” Those words, from Compass CEO Robert Reffkin to Rocket Companies CEO Varun Krishna, have a little bit of subtext.…
Some homeowners think selling their properties with no agent will save gobs of money on commissions. Almost always they come to regret it, settling on a price that could have been better, not to mention spending way more time on the process than they envisioned Read more.
