Christina Spicer  |  March 23, 2021

Category: Household

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Real estate agents say Zillow hides listings from consumers.

A real estate company filed an antitrust lawsuit against Zillow and Trulia accusing the platforms of effectively locking them out of the online housing market. The lawsuit, filed in Washington federal court last week, claims that the sites unfairly favor agents who are in the National Association of Realtors (NAR), leaving non-NAR realtors out and resulting in consumers paying higher commissions.  

Plaintiff REX – Real Estate Exchange, Inc. says that favoring NAR real estate agents is not only unfair, but illegal antitrust behavior that saddles consumers with additional costs. 

REX is an innovative real estate company formed in 2015, according to the lawsuit. The company claims it wants to disrupt the traditional home buying process and lower commissions for consumers.  

This democratization of access to real estate inventory changes the old dynamic,” REX asserts about its business model.  

“The NAR and Multiple Listing Services (‘MLS’) largely controlled access to real estate markets, and related brokerage services, because they controlled home inventory information,” the lawsuit explains, pointing out that, now, direct access by consumers to this information “opens the pathway for new, innovative real estate service providers,” specifically, those that charge lower commission fees.  

The lawsuit points to a specific example in King County, Wash. REX claims that its service would save consumers as much as $16,000 in commissions on a $720,000 home sale in the area; however, REX’s efforts to offer lower priced services to consumers have been stymied, says the plaintiff, by changes to Zillow and Trulia websites that obscure REX and other non-NAR real estate listings.  

Zillow’s recently implemented website changes make non- MLS listings accessible only via a recessed, obscured, and deceptive tab that consumers do not see, and even professional real estate agents find deceiving,” explains the lawsuit.  

REX says the move is “driving consumers away from REX and back into the MLS regime, ensuring higher commissions that benefit NAR’s members.” 

The lawsuit points out that the changes were made to the Zillow and Trulia websites when the companies became NAR and MLS members.  

A spokesperson for Zillow said the company is adjusting its site to align with the organizations regulations. “Zillow is committed to giving consumers the most up-to-date housing information on the most amount of listings possible on a single platform,” Viet Shelton told Politico reporters. “We made changes to the way some listings appear on the site in order to be compliant with MLS rules.” 

This is not the first lawsuit to be lodged against Zillow by real estate agents.  In 2019, a class action lawsuit alleged that Zillow unfairly favored its premium members by redirecting users to “premier” agents and away from the agents who list the homes, but did not pay for premium access to the site.  

In this lawsuit, REX is seeking damages, along with a court order that would require Zillow and Trulia to modify their websites to show non-NAR listings on equal footing with listings by NAR real estate agents.  

Have you looked for a home on Zillow or Trulia? Tell us about your experience in the comment section below.  

Plaintiff Rex – Real Estate Exchange, Inc. is represented by Michael Vaska and Rylan Weythman of Foster Garvey PC, and Darren L. McCarty and Cristina M. Moreno of McCarty Law PLLC.  

The Zillow Antitrust Lawsuit is REX – Real Estate Exchange, Inc. v. Zillow, Inc., et al., Case No. 2:21-cv-00312, in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington at Seattle.  

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3 thoughts onReal Estate Agents Accuse Zillow of Hiding Listings

  1. Angelica Romero says:

    Add me. My two properties are shown to be 29k over real fair market value. They not accurate.

  2. William Fillinger says:

    Zillow has changed the estimate, the value, the square footage, etc of my home so many times, it confuses buyers. Needless to say, we are having a hard time selling, because everyone uses zillow. A company that big should not be able to run over people trying to sell.

  3. Jill Kramer says:

    Please add me, Zillow is a very hard website to work with, not updated, etc. Please add me

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