Ftc Accuses Zillow Of Paying $100 Million To ‘dismantle’ Redfin

Thanks to a deal struck by Zillow and Redfin successful February, renters person had less options for browsing flat listings, and they mightiness not person moreover realized it. Now nan Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is suing nan companies alleging that their business violates antitrust laws calling it, “an forbidden statement to dismantle Redfin arsenic a competitor.”

Zillow (which runs Trulia, HotPads, and StreetEasy) entered into a business successful which it paid Redfin (which runs Rent.com and ApartmentGuide) to syndicate its ads for rentals. That intends whether you were going to Zillow, Trulia, aliases Rent.com, you were seeing galore of nan nonstop aforesaid listings. 

As portion of that deal, Redfin besides agreed to extremity its existing contracts pinch advertizing customers, transportation them to Zillow and, according to nan FTC complaint, not compete pinch Zillow for multifamily spot listings for up to 9 years. In a property merchandise announcing nan suit nan FTC’s Director of nan Bureau of Competition said that, “paying disconnected a competitor to extremity competing against you is simply a usurpation of national antitrust laws.”

The FTC further alleges that arsenic portion of this woody Redfin laid disconnected hundreds of workers, past helped Zillow cherry prime nan ones it wanted. Effectively, it sounds for illustration nan FTC is accusing Zillow of acquiring portion of Redfin’s business, but hiding down nan guise of a “partnership” to effort and debar regulatory scrutiny. 

Between its ain listing sites, Redfin’s and Realtor.com (which Zillow entered a partnership pinch successful 2024) Zillow efficaciously controls nan immense mostly of rental listings online erstwhile it comes to larger flat complexes. This could thrust up costs for landlords looking to database their apartments connected these sites and make it harder for renters to find properties extracurricular of Zillow’s web of advertisers. Zillow had not responded to a petition for remark astatine nan clip of publication.