Zillow Removes Matterport Tours from Listings, Says CoStar is Restricting Use

Zillow has claimed that CoStar has not renewed its Matterport API agreement, forcing it to remove access to its 3D tours from its platform.

Zillow—already embroiled in a very public legal showdown with CoStar—has asserted that its rival has pulled the rug from under its feet, adjusting its terms of service to restrict Matterport 3D tours from third-party sites, giving Zillow no choice but to remove Matterport assets from its portal, as well as subsidiaries, including its New York portal Street Easy.

In an email sent to Street Easy customers and obtained by HousingWire, Zillow Group acknowledged that the removal of Matterport from Zillow Group sites was “frustrating.”

We also know how important virtual tour content is to your marketing strategy, and want to do everything we can to help you replace these removed tours. Our goal is to give you more flexibility when marketing your properties—wherever that may be. We’re committed to providing a high-quality experience while keeping your entire business fully supported. That will always remain our priority.

A Zillow spokesperson told Inman:

"CoStar’s ongoing efforts to wall off data and restrict how real estate professionals use the content they pay for is harmful to everyone in the industry."

But CoStar responded with its own perspective, saying:

Zillow is again engaging in anti-consumer conduct, claiming that CoStar Group has 'restricted the use of Matterport 3D virtual tours outside of CoStar-owned sites.' This is untrue. Neither Matterport’s nor CoStar Group’s media licensing terms have changed. If Zillow is removing Matterport Spaces from its website, that is a decision Zillow made unilaterally to the detriment of their customers. We understand that Zillow has made reference to a terminated API agreement between Matterport and Zillow. That is a complete red herring, and unrelated to Matterport’s customers’ ability to share Spaces. Zillow knows this but chose to spread a falsehood anyway.

CoStar's general counsel Gene Boxer said:

“Zillow is trying to mislead agents to divert attention from five lawsuits filed against Zillow in the last four months. Zillow’s misstatements are a pretext to exclude a superior, competing product from its network. Resorting to these anticompetitive tactics against CoStar Group demonstrates that Homes.com and Matterport are succeeding.”

Jacob Goldman, an agent at LoHo Realty in New York, took to LinkedIn to share his view from the front lines of the industry, citing CoStar's and Zillow's fight for power as the driving force behind his agency no longer having access to core technology that he had paid for.

"My 3D tours—the ones I paid for—just disappeared from StreetEasy. I use Matterport for every listing because buyers deserve to see the home and sellers deserve the best marketing. But now, I can’t even show those tours on StreetEasy or Zillow. Why? Because two billion-dollar corporations—CoStar (which owns Homes.com and Matterport) and Zillow (which owns StreetEasy)—are fighting over who controls the tech.

"They’re blaming each other. StreetEasy says CoStar pulled access. CoStar says Zillow made the call. But the truth is, it doesn’t matter who’s pointing fingers — the people who lose are the buyers who can’t see the property, the sellers who lose exposure, and the agents who did the work. This isn’t about 'innovation.' It’s about control. When tech giants fight for dominance, they forget about the human side of real estate—the homes, the families, the agents, the clients. Maybe it’s time for regulators like the FTC or the Attorney General to step in and say enough."