Judge denies motion to dismiss Zillow-Redfin FTC lawsuit

Zillow and Redfin’s legal battle with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and attorneys general from Virginia, Arizona, New York, Connecticut and Washington will continue. 

Last Thursday, a Virginia-based U.S. District Court judge denied a motion to dismiss the antitrust lawsuit the two online listing portals filed in mid-January. 

Originally filed as two separate lawsuits in late September 2025 before being consolidated in late November, the lawsuit claims that the multifamily rental syndication deal executed by Zillow and Redfin in early 2025 was tantamount to Zillow simply paying Redfin $100 million in exchange for it no longer competing in the multifamily rental listing space. 

This ruling comes after the parties held a hearing regarding the motion back in late February. 

In their motion to dismiss, the defendants argued that since the case involved a two-sided advertising platform, the plaintiffs’ have filed to properly allege a market encompassing both sides and that their geographic market definition is not correct as housing markets are local. Zillow and Redfin also argued that the plaintiffs failed to allege that the two firms have “sufficient market power to harm competition.”

In his order, the judge recognized that while online listing platforms do involve a two-sided marketplaces, he finds that the “pro-competitive justification for anti-competitive conduct relied on by defendants” only applies to two-sided platforms where the owner of the platform owner must simultaneously make sales to both sides of the platform, which is not the case with an internet listing service. Regarding the alleged anti-competitive impact of the agreement, the judge wrote that “given the fact-intensive nature of these claims, much of which involve factual assertions and considerations outside of the Complaint itself,” the plaintiffs have alleged facts that make their antitrust claims plausible. 

In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for Redfin wrote that the firm “strongly disagrees” with the FTC’s allegations.

“Redfin remains confident we will be vindicated by a court of law. Our partnership with Zillow has given Redfin.com visitors access to more rental listings and our advertising customers access to more renters,” the spokesperson wrote. “By the end of 2024, it was clear that the existing number of Redfin advertising customers couldn’t justify the cost of maintaining our rentals sales force. Partnering with Zillow cut those costs and enabled us to invest more in rental-search innovations on Redfin.com, directly benefiting apartment seekers.”

Zillow did not immediately return HousingWire’s request for comment.