Zillow, NAR & REX Lawsuit: Transparency in Real Estate

Zillow and NAR win lawsuit against REX, affirming transparency in real estate. Court upholds ruling that they didn't conspire to hide non-MLS listings. Questions about competition remain.

Just how we got below: REX filed suit in 2021, asserting Zillow’s fostering of the separate-tab display screen for non-MLS listings– which the search website began phasing out in April– totaled up to anticompetitive and deceptive habits. After losing at trial in 2023, REX interested the Ninth Circuit, which maintained the reduced court’s ruling in March 2024.

Zillow’s Perspective

What Zillow needed to claim: “We’re pleased this issue has reached the final thought we expected which the court at every level has actually attested Zillow’s position,” a Zillow agent claimed in a declaration. “Zillow was started on enhancing openness in property and we have a lengthy background of advocating for techniques and launching items that do just that. This decision reinforces our long-lasting dedication to transparency, development and focusing on consumers.”

NAR’s Stance on MLS

What NAR had to say: “As we have stated from day one, NAR’s optional no-commingling guideline was not an antitrust violation. While the optional policy is no longer basically, NAR stays fully commited to securing the advantages MLSs offer representatives, customers, and the market,” an NAR representative said. “Local MLSs play an essential role in fostering clear, competitive, and fair real estate markets by supplying consumers one of the most accurate and up-to-date information on home listings.”

Industry Impact & Analysis

What it suggests for the sector: The High court’s decision closes guide on REX’s difficulty, but inquiries about competitors and transparency in real estate stay. The situation played out alongside a wave of antitrust analysis over industry techniques, consisting of commission claims and the Justice Division’s recurring passion in just how realty guidelines impact customers and technology.

The decision leaves undamaged a reduced court ruling that found Zillow and NAR did not conspire to conceal non-MLS listings on Zillow’s system. REX, a now-defunct low-fee brokerage, had argued that NAR’s “no-commingling regulation”– which called for MLS listings to be displayed separately from non-MLS listings– unjustly lowered website traffic to its listings.