Home / Business and Economy / Real Estate Titans Clash in Chicago Court Over Listings
Real Estate Titans Clash in Chicago Court Over Listings
3 Jul
Summary
- Zillow accuses MRED and Compass of conspiring to block its access to listings.
- A dispute over private real estate listings led MRED to cut off Zillow's data feed.
- The case raises anticompetitive and antitrust concerns in the real estate market.
In a Chicago federal courthouse, Zillow is locked in a legal dispute with Compass and Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) over access to private real estate listings. Zillow claims that an agreement between MRED and Compass constitutes a conspiracy to cut them out of the market, raising significant antitrust concerns. This conflict escalated in late May when MRED severed Zillow's listing data feed, temporarily removing over 40,000 properties from the portal. A federal judge ordered the data restored. MRED's head, Rebecca Jensen, stated the data cutoff was due to Zillow's alleged breach of an agreement, not pressure from Compass. Zillow contends that these actions prevent it from utilizing its innovations to compete for initial online property listing display. An economist testifying for Zillow argued that the MRED-Compass agreement aimed to block Zillow's listing access standards nationwide, rather than for legitimate expansion.
