Judge Rules Against Zillow in Chicago Antitrust Dispute

U.S. District Judge John Tharp Jr. ruled against Zillow Group Inc. in an antitrust dispute, dissolving a previous order that required Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) to provide the real estate portal with access to home listings in the Chicago area. The conflict arose after Zillow implemented a policy refusing listings not available to the broader public, which MRED claimed violated terms of service prohibiting the filtering of listings by brokerage.

Zillow alleged that MRED and Compass Inc. engaged in an illegal group boycott to block Zillow from the market. However, Judge Tharp found insufficient evidence to sustain the claim and ordered Zillow to resolve the matter through arbitration. He noted that while losing access to listing feeds would harm Zillow, that harm would only occur if the company attempted to enforce its listing standards.

The ruling represents a victory for Compass Inc., which is working to build a private listings network and has established similar partnerships with multiple listing services across several other U.S. states. Compass asserted that the decision affirms the right of homeowners to choose how their properties are listed and that punishing consumers for that choice is anti-competitive.