Zillow Pays Redfin to Not Compete, Then Both Pupils Graduate Antitrust Class
KEY POINTS
- •In 2025, Zillow and Redfin formed a controversial partnership involving payments and promises not to compete on multifamily listings.
- •The FTC alleged this arrangement violated antitrust laws and proposed a settlement in 2026.
- •The settlement allows Redfin to resume syndicating Zillow’s rental listings but requires them to restart their own rental ads business.
In a dazzling real estate drama worthy of its own soap opera, the FTC caught Zillow and Redfin in a 2025 'partnership' scandal—basically Zillow paid Redfin to syndicate its listings while Redfin politely promised not to compete on multifamily rentals. Talk about a B2B bromance gone rogue! The FTC’s 2026 settlement lets Redfin now continue posting Zillow rentals—or "syndicating unencumbered" as the regulator put it—but with the catch that Redfin has to restart its own advertising hustle, which it had, quite fashionably, wound down for the big Zillow-reign deal. Reality check: paying to NOT compete is the plot twist nobody asked for.
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(1 of 3)Zillow and Redfin paid each other to not compete, then got called out by the FTC for playing monopoly for grown-ups. Spoiler: Monopoly is still illegal, even if you pay your opponent to chill.
Two major real estate giants made a deal to hold hands and skip competition only to be told by the FTC 'not on my watch.' The lesson? Antitrust doesn’t have a chill mode.
In 2025, Zillow and Redfin tried the 'Let’s Not Compete and Exchange Money Instead' strategy. The FTC said nope. Turns out, you can’t buy peace in rental wars.
Source: Theverge | Published: 8/24/2026 | Author: Stevie Bonifield
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