Compass Sues Zillow Over “Anticompetitive Tactics”

Compass is leveling up its fight over private listings with a lawsuit.

The brokerage filed a complaint in New York federal court against Zillow, claiming the listings giant leveraged its monopoly power to prevent competition in the homebuying and selling marketplace when it put into place new listing standards in April.

The brokerage also named eXp Realty and Redfin as co-conspirators, alleging the firms engaged in anticompetitive practices by agreeing to adopt and adhere to Zillow’s new listing standards policy. Compass is asking the court to block what it calls the “Zillow Ban.”

“To protect its market dominance, Zillow has retaliated against competitive threats by enacting an exclusionary policy,” Compass said in the complaint.

A spokesperson for Zillow in a statement said the firm “believes the claims in this lawsuit are unfounded and will vigorously defend against them.”

“At the heart of this issue is a simple principle: when a listing is publicly marketed, it should be accessible to all buyers—across all platforms, including Zillow,” the statement said. “Hiding listings creates a fragmented market, limits consumer choice and creates barriers to homeownership, which is bad for buyers, sellers, and the industry at large, especially in this inventory and affordability-constrained environment.”

Private listings have become the industry’s hot-button issue in the last year after Compass emerged as a vocal leader in a public campaign to repeal the National Association of Realtors’ Clear Cooperation Policy, which requires listings to be uploaded to the multiple listing service within 24 hours of public marketing.

The campaign coincided with Compass’ unveiling of its three-phase marketing strategy, which encourages sellers to withhold listings from being added to the MLS without first being marketed as office exclusives and coming soon listings.

“Zillow is an unfriendly place for home listings, which is one of the reasons home sellers have welcomed Compass’s strategy,” the brokerage said in the complaint.

Zillow responded to the brokerage’s new strategy push by enacting a listing standards policy that penalizes listings not uploaded to the MLS and published on Zillow within 24 hours. The policy, which is set to go into effect on June 30, bans violating listings from appearing on Zillow.

The rule requires listings to be uploaded to the MLS within 24 hours of being publicly marketed, but includes an exception for “office exclusive” listings that are only shared within one brokerage, which is how Compass positions its private exclusive listings.

In its lawsuit, Compass claims that NAR originally adopted its Clear Cooperation Policy in 2020 in an effort to impede the brokerage’s new off-MLS listing tools, claiming that the policy was referred to as the “Compass Rule” within the industry.

Compass claimed that in Nov. 2024, Zillow sent a letter to NAR asking that the policy be revised to remove the office exclusive carveout. NAR instead adopted a new policy in March 2025 that allows for delayed marketing exemption listings, which can be publicly marketed without being syndicated through the MLS.

Compass claims that Zillow “took matters into its own hands” and responded with its listing policy on April 10. The brokerage also claims that Zillow’s policy has “disastrous consequences” for Compass because it prohibits the use of its private listing database, the sharing of private listings with agents at other brokerages and the advertising and marketing of its private listings.

The New York Times first reported the lawsuit.