Funda to Keep its Leading Hold on the Netherlands Market with Recent Court Ruling

Funda holds itself as the leading real estate platform in the Netherlands, a position we recently covered in our latest infographic. That position had been brought to question by real estate association VBO Makelaars.

VBO had accused the Dutch Association of Real Estate Agents (NVM) in court that Funda had abused its leading role by “inter alia self-preferencing the ranking of advertisements of NVM members on the online platform” which led to higher tariffs and limited website functionalities to VBO members. Funda was also accused of withholding a database of sales information from NVM members. 

Taking this into consideration, and with VBO failing to back up these claims, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal concluded that Funda had not shown discrimination when it comes to listing tariffs. The court stated that Funda did not limit access to VBO members, whether to disrupt the competition or not. When it comes to the treatment of NVM agents’ property listings on Funda, the court stated there was no foul play.

VBO had demanded that Funda release access to its historic property sales database, which the court denied. 

In conclusion, the court has ruled that Funda has not abused its dominant position in the market and stays the stainless leader in the Netherlands.