Experts believe that the U.S. real estate landscape is on the verge of significant change in the coming months.
One of the major residential real estate firms in the United States is taking legal action against Zillow concerning issues of “consumer choice.”
On Monday, Compass, a real estate brokerage, submitted a 60-page complaint in Manhattan federal court, claiming that Zillow was improperly refusing to list homes that were initially posted on other platforms.
The complaint argues that “Zillow’s ban is designed to ensure it controls all home listings through its prominent search engine, enabling the company to profit from each listing and maintain its monopoly.” The statement emphasizes the need for products and strategies from competitors to thrive based on their own merits, rather than the exclusive decisions of gatekeepers like Zillow.
In response, Compass’s founder and CEO, Robert Lefkin, mentioned, “This lawsuit is fundamentally about protecting consumer choices. No one has the right to exclude agents or listings simply because they don’t align with a private business model. That isn’t competition; it’s enforcement. Just think if Amazon started banning sellers from offering products on their website—that’s what Zillow does in real estate.”
Zillow has begun tightening restrictions on exclusive “out of market” listings, affecting key buyer strategies.
Compass Realty signs are displayed in front of homes for sale in Greenbray, California, on June 23, 2025. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
The Manhattan-based Compass is seeking an injunction against Zillow to enforce better practices as well as financial restitution.
As inventory hits record levels, home sellers must confront a difficult new reality worth $69 billion.
A “For Sale” sign is seen at a home in Miami, Florida, on April 16, 2025. (Marco Bello/File Photo/Reuters)
Zillow, based in Seattle, maintains a database of approximately 160 million homes and sees around 227 million unique visitors monthly. They reported 2.4 billion visits from January to March. Zillow referred to Compass’s claims as unfounded and emphasized their commitment to protecting their platform.
The Zillow app is shown in Germantown, New York, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Gabby Jones/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
A Zillow spokesperson stated, “If your listing is public, it must be available to all buyers on all platforms, including Zillow.”
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| comp | Compass Inc. | 6.25 | +0.13 | +2.12% |
| z | Zillow Group Inc. | 69.06 | +0.82 | +1.20% |
“Restricted listings create fragmented markets, limit choices for consumers, and impose barriers to homeownership, which is detrimental to buyers, sellers, and the entire industry, especially in today’s environment of limited inventory and affordability,” the Zillow spokesperson concluded.
