Zillow filed a federal antitrust lawsuit today against MRED, Chicago’s dominant MLS, and Compass, the country’s biggest brokerage. It claims that MRED and Compass are conspiring to cut off Zillow’s access to listing data and force it to promote private listings on its platform.
The 53-page complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, alleges violations of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act.
The Core Dispute
The fight centers on private listings: homes marketed only to a select group of buyers, rather than being made publicly available. Zillow argues Private Listing Networks (PLNs) harm consumers, while Compass and MRED operate and promote them.
In April 2025, Zillow adopted its Listing Access Standards, which said Zillow would refuse to display listings on its platforms that had previously been marketed privately through a PLN. Zillow believes this promotes transparency and benefits buyers and sellers.
According to Zillow’s complaint, Compass CEO Robert Reffkin messaged at least eight MLSs around the country telling them to cut off Zillow’s data access if Zillow didn’t back down. Weeks later, MRED’s CEO Rebecca Jensen told Zillow that MRED would terminate its listing feed if Zillow enforced its Standards in the Chicagoland region. MRED then rewrote its rules to create a basis for doing exactly that.
How It Went National
What started as a regional standoff in Chicago went national, according to the complaint. In April 2026, MRED and Compass announced a formal partnership allowing Compass agents anywhere in the country to enter listings into MRED’s private listing network. Compass agreed to subsidize the cost for up to 100,000 agents to join MRED as full members, a move that could triple MRED’s size.
The complaint alleges similar partnerships followed quickly with Realtracs (Tennessee) and The MLS/CLAW (California), both of which adopted rule changes mirroring MRED’s revised language. The pattern, according to Zillow: partner with Compass, rewrite rules to ban platforms from filtering listings, then threaten to terminate data feeds for anyone who doesn’t comply.
For context, here’s a brief timeline of the events leading up to Zillow’s lawsuit, according to the complaint:
- April 2025: Zillow launches Listing Access Standards restricting private listings
- April 2025: Reffkin urges at least eight MLSs to cut off Zillow’s data feeds
- October 2025: MRED CEO Rebecca Jensen warns Zillow it will lose Chicagoland data access; MRED rewrites its rules
- January 2026: Compass acquires Anywhere Real Estate, hitting 35% Chicago market share
- February 2026: Compass and Rocket partner in 3-year alliance to expand listings on Redfin
- April 2026: MRED and Compass announce formal national partnership
- May 6, 2026: MRED’s feed distributor threatens to terminate Zillow’s data access entirely
- May 8, 2026: Compass terminates all direct listing feed agreements with Zillow nationwide
- May 11, 2026: Compass emails North Carolina MLS, references same May 20 deadline as MRED
- May 12, 2026: Zillow files suit
Zillow’s Email to Preferred Partners
In an email sent to Zillow Preferred Partners today, Zuhairah Washington, SVP of Zillow Preferred, shared information about the lawsuit and stated:
“Compass is already in talks with MLSs in Nashville and parts of Los Angeles. If this model spreads, agents everywhere face a less competitive, less transparent market.
“We filed this lawsuit to protect a fair, open marketplace for agents, buyers, and sellers.”
Before closing the email, Washington encouraged Preferred Partners to share their thoughts locally:
“If your MLS is considering similar rules, your voice matters. Reach out to them to share your opinion.”
What is Zillow asking for?
Zillow is asking the court to block enforcement of MRED’s revised rules, prevent MRED from terminating Zillow’s listing feed, and award treble damages and attorneys’ fees. A jury trial has been demanded.
It’s worth noting that Compass previously sued Zillow over the Listing Access Standards in June 2025, seeking a preliminary injunction. That effort failed. A federal judge denied the injunction in February 2026. Compass then voluntarily dismissed its entire case, shortly after Zillow launched “Zillow Preview” and updated its Listing Access Standards.
The complaint alleges the conspiracy with MRED was Compass’s backup plan after losing in court.
Zillow’s full complaint is available here.
