MRED Suspends Zillow's Access to Chicago Listings

Zillow has lost access to listings from the nation’s third-largest Multiple Listing Service.

Lisle-based Midwest Real Estate Data announced Wednesday morning it had cut off its direct listing feed to Zillow, pulling roughly 43,000 Chicago-area homes from display on the country’s largest home search website. Zillow has direct feed agreements with some Chicago brokerages, so it’s expected to still receive some listing volume in the region.

After suspending the listing feed, MRED followed up with a demand that Zillow take down its existing inventory of MRED listings, saying its continued display of older listings is a violation of its licensing agreement and federal copyright laws.

As of mid-morning on Wednesday, it appears Zillow has culled its past MRED listings. Zillow’s website shows less than 1,000 active listings in Chicago, compared to more than 5,000 on websites like Redfin and Realtor.com.

The cutoff is the culmination of a yearlong dispute over Zillow’s efforts to block home listings that were marketed in private channels — such as MRED’s Private Listing Network or Compass’ “Private Exclusive” offerings — before going public on an MLS. MRED says refusal to display those listings is a violation of its licensing agreement that forbids websites from filtering listings based on the broker or brokerage attached to them.

In an expansion of its reach far beyond Illinois, MRED opened up access to brokers nationally in April, and Compass International Holdings announced it would syndicate all its inventory, including off-market offerings, to MRED. As a result, Zillow’s attempts to block Compass listings that were marketed privately anywhere in the country are considered by MRED a violation of its rules.

MRED subsequently informed Zillow that it had identified nine listings outside Illinois that Zillow was blocking from display on its website in violation of MRED’s rules, and said the blocking could lead to Zillow losing data access. Zillow responded by filing a federal antitrust lawsuit against MRED and Compass last week, accusing the companies of colluding to choke off competition from Zillow.

Rebecca Jensen, MRED’s president and CEO, said the suspension reflects the MLS’s responsibility to enforce its rules consistently. MRED said the listings were marketed under lawful practices that comply with its rules, and that Zillow’s selective exclusion breaches the license agreement.

“Our rules apply equally to every participant, and we have a duty to educate our participants and vendors, counsel them when they are out of compliance, and require that breaches be cured,” Jensen said in the announcement.

A Zillow spokesperson said in a statement MRED’s actions would harm buyers, who have less access to listings; sellers, who expect their homes to be visible on ZIllow; and agents.

“Chicagoland home buyers and sellers this morning have far worse access to the housing market than they had yesterday, because their local MLS decided one megabrokerage’s profits mattered more than their ability to achieve the American Dream,” the spokesperson said.

While some listings may still flow to Zillow, it’s missing inventory from Compass International Holdings and its subsidiaries like @properties Christie’s International Real Estate. Compass accounts for about 35 percent of MRED’s transaction volume, according to Zillow’s legal filings.

Compass cut off its direct feeds to Zillow earlier this year over the private listing dispute, Zillow said in its lawsuit. In a statement, a Compass International Holdings spokesperson said the company believes sellers should have a choice in how their homes are marketed.

“Zillow wants one approach for every seller,” the spokesperson said. “If a homeowner chooses a different path, Zillow punishes that homeowner and their agent by banning the listing from its platform, even after the home becomes publicly available in the MLS.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.