FTC Challenge to Zillow-Redfin Partnership Headed to Trial

A challenge struck up by the Federal Trade Commission against Zillow and Redfin’s $100 million multifamily listing syndication deal is headed to trial.

A federal judge declined the regulator’s request to immediately block the partnership between the two companies, Bloomberg reported. The judge cited the number of disputes involved in the case as a reason for it to proceed to trial, which is expected to start in late August and run for two weeks.

During a hearing on Wednesday, counsel for the FTC argued the syndication deal between Zillow and Redfin — a Rocket Companies subsidiary — reduced competition in the internet apartment listings space.

The FTC filed its lawsuit in September, alleging the two listing platforms violated antitrust laws by entering into an agreement for Zillow to be the exclusive provider of multifamily listings on Redfin and other websites under its purview.

At the center of the suit was the $100 million deal the two companies announced in February 2025, where Redfin agreed to only syndicate multifamily listings from Zillow on its website, as well as its other platforms, Rent.com and ApartmentGuide.com.

The firms billed the move as a “partnership,” though the FTC in its lawsuit pushed back against that characterization. The complaint argues that by agreeing to the deal, Redfin steered its advertising customers to Zillow and vowed not to compete with the company for at least nine years.

State attorneys general filed a similar complaint against the companies. A judge consolidated those cases in December.

News of the syndication deal came as Redfin also announced it would let go of 450 employees in its rental division, adding to a number of rounds of layoffs at the company over the last few years.

The FTC is seeking to end the agreement between the two companies. The agency is also considering restructuring the businesses or spinning off portions of the firms to “restore competition.”

Redfin, led by then-CEO Glenn Kelman, was acquired by Rocket Companies in a deal valued at $1.75 billion at the beginning of 2025.

— Holden Walter-Warner