SEATTLE, Wash. —Attorneys general in Washington and four other states filed an antitrust lawsuit Wednesday, accusing real estate giants Zillow and Redfin of illegally colluding to dominate the online rental advertising market, potentially harming renters amid a growing housing crisis.
The lawsuit alleges the companies violated federal antitrust laws by striking a $100 million deal earlier this year that effectively removed Redfin as a competitor in the online listings market for multifamily rental properties.
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“Amid a housing crisis in Washington, ensuring robust competition in rental advertising is vital,” Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said in a statement. “Enforcing our antitrust laws to keep the marketplace fair, protect consumers, and prevent companies from building monopolies is a priority for our office.”
According to the complaint, Seattle-based Zillow paid Redfin, also headquartered in Seattle, $100 million to exit the rental listings business for properties with 25 or more units. Redfin agreed to transition clients to Zillow, incentivize its own sales staff to do the same, and display only Zillow’s listings for large rental properties on its platforms.
Prosecutors say this deal allowed Zillow to solidify its position as the dominant player in the multifamily rental listings market—at the expense of competition and consumer choice.
Shortly after the agreement, Redfin reportedly laid off around 450 employees and shut down its rental listing operations.
Attorneys general from Arizona, Connecticut, New York, and Virginia joined Washington in filing the suit. They allege the companies violated both the Sherman Antitrust Act and the Clayton Act by unlawfully eliminating competition and engaging in an anti-competitive acquisition.
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The lawsuit seeks a court order to unwind the agreement and restore competition in the online rental marketplace.
The Federal Trade Commission also filed a related complaint against Zillow and Redfin in the same court.
According to the lawsuit, Zillow began building its rental listings platform in the 2010s and expanded aggressively through acquisitions of rival platforms like HotPads and Trulia. Redfin, which entered the rental listing market in 2021 by acquiring RentPath—owner of Rent.com, ApartmentGuide.com, and Rentals.com—had competed fiercely until the two companies struck the deal in early 2025.As of Wednesday, neither Zillow nor Redfin had issued a public response to the lawsuits.
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