Zillow/Redfin Antitrust Lawsuit to Continue After Request for Dismissal Denied by Judge

Zillow and Redfin have had a request to dismiss a U.S. Federal Trade Commission lawsuit rejected by a federal judge.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga adjudged that the FTC's case against Zillow and Redfin—accusing them of alleged suppression of rental advertising—plausibly alleges a violation of antitrust law.

The lawsuit, which can be found here, said:

The Federal Trade Commission sued Zillow and Redfin over an unlawful agreement that eliminates Redfin as a competitor in the market for placing advertising of rental housing on internet listing services (ILSs)—the websites that millions of Americans use to find their next rental home. The complaint alleges that in February 2025, Zillow and Redfin entered into an illegal agreement to dismantle Redfin as a competitor in the ILS advertising market for multifamily rental properties.

The FTC's lawsuit, launched in September 2025, accused Zillow of making an illegal $100 million payment to Redfin in an agreement that would effectively eliminate Redfin as a competitor to Zillow in the rentals space for the best part of a decade.

FTC alleged that the payment included clauses that would see Redfin end contracts with advertising partners so Zillow could take them; to stop competing in the advertising market for up to nine years; and to serve as an exclusive syndicator of Zillow listings, effectively turning Redfin into a duplicate of Zillow and breaching antitrust laws.

Speaking last year, Daniel Guarnera, Director of the Bureau of Competition at the FTC, said: "Paying off a competitor to stop competing against you is a violation of federal antitrust laws."

However, both Zillow and Redfin appeared confident in their communications after last week's decision.

Zillow said it remained confident that "We will demonstrate ​the pro-competitive and consumer benefits of our partnership with Redfin in court."

A Redfin spokesperson said the company will be vindicated in court, saying the Zillow partnership "enabled us to invest more in rental-search innovations on Redfin.com, directly benefiting apartment seekers."