Zillow, Redfin Settle FTC Antitrust Case Over $100M Rental Deal

Zillow and Redfin have reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and five states over a 2025 rental-listing agreement that regulators alleged unlawfully reduced competition.

The settlement resolves litigation brought by the FTC and the attorneys general of Arizona, Connecticut, New York, Virginia, and Washington. Under the proposed order announced by the FTC, Redfin must rebuild and reenter the rental advertising business while removing restrictions that limited its ability to compete independently with Zillow.

FTC challenged Zillow’s $100 million deal with Redfin

The dispute centred on an agreement announced in February 2025. Zillow paid Redfin $100 million, while Redfin agreed to wind down its multifamily rental advertising business, transition customers to Zillow and exclusively display Zillow-provided apartment listings. The arrangement could have kept Redfin out of that advertising market for up to nine years.

When the FTC sued the companies in September 2025, it alleged that the deal removed Zillow’s major competitors and could lead to higher advertising prices, favourable terms for property managers, and reduced competition in online rental listings.

Zillow and Redfin defended their partnership as a way to give renters access to a larger inventory of listings.

Redfin must return as an independent competitor.

Under the settlement, Redfin has committed to restarting its rental advertising business within six months of the order becoming final. It must rebuild the technology needed to display listings from its own customers, hire sales and customer support staff, and invest tens of millions of dollars in the business.

The companies can continue parts of their existing relationship, including Redfin’s ability to display Zillow rental listings. However, Redfin will also be free to sell advertising services, pursue its own property-management customers and display their listings without being required to provide Zillow with competitively sensitive information.

The proposed restrictions will remain in place for 10 years, according to the FTC.

The settlement comes amid broader federal and state scrutiny of dominant online marketplaces. In April, a coalition of states won an antitrust trial against Live Nation and Ticketmaster, with a jury finding that the companies violated federal and state antitrust laws by unlawfully maintaining monopoly power.

For Zillow and Redfin, the new agreement preserves their ability to share rental listings while requiring Redfin to once again operate as an independent competitor for rental advertisers.