Zillow, Redfin Settle FTC Case Over $100M Deal

FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson wrote on X that "this anticompetitive agreement is now history under our proposed settlement," calling it "a complete victory" that "resolves all our competition concerns" and secures "everything we could have gotten" had the government won at trial.

Daniel Guarnera, director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition, said the settlement "delivers better, quicker, more certain results for both renters and property management companies than we would have been able to achieve after prevailing at trial, including firm and enforceable commitments by Redfin to relaunch its rentals advertising business."

New York Attorney General Letitia James, who led the multistate suit, said the case restored competition among online rental listing platforms, which she called "critical tools that New Yorkers rely on to find affordable homes."

Both companies called it a win. A Redfin spokesman said the agreement "allows us to maintain our rental partnership with Zillow through at least 2030 while building and investing in a standalone rentals business of our own." Michael Sherman, general manager and senior vice president of Zillow Rentals, said the resolution "is a win for renters and multifamily housing providers," adding that the partnership brought "more leads and leases to property managers and more options to renters."

Zillow had argued the deal added listings to both platforms and helped it compete with market leader CoStar. The FTC and the states argued it eliminated a direct competitor and raised prices.