As the war over private listings intensifies, Zillow and Compass (among others) are using dueling data reports and starkly different methodologies to make their respective cases in the courtroom—and in the court of public opinion. On July 24, Compass reported that pre-marketed homes that started as Private Exclusives or Coming Soons sold for 4.6% more…
The private listing debate quickly got messy within the industry. Real estate rivals suddenly couldn’t agree even on the definition of “private,” and the disputes have often become technical and insular—seller choice versus transparency, monopolies and conspiracies, the Wall Street boogeyman and the out-of-touch incumbents. But as brokerage and MLS leaders updated policies and focused…
Tennessee-based MLS Realtracs, two months after threatening to join Chicago-based MRED in cutting Zillow off from its listing feed, has entered into a new licensing agreement with the portal, which “ensures uninterrupted listing distribution” while ensuring Realtracs members continue to have access to Zillow tools. In a statement, Realtracs President and CEO Stuart White said…
In his continued movement of expanding seller choice across real estate, Compass CEO Robert Reffkin said he expects “more than 90% of MLSs to have rules that allow sellers to market both Private Exclusives and Coming Soons by the end of the year” during the company’s recent Q2 earnings call. In presenting to investors, Reffkin…
A federal congressional committee sent letters to Compass CEO Robert Reffkin and MRED CEO Rebecca Jensen in relation to their partnership, scrutinizing the relationship between the nation’s largest brokerage and the Chicago-based MLS that is already at the center of a federal lawsuit. The letters were penned by a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee…
The strangest part of the fight over private real estate listings is not that powerful companies are fighting for control of valuable inventory. That is business. It’s that what is too rarely said plainly is that consumer benefits and corporate benefits can coexist, and sometimes conflict. Compass calls its private listing strategy “seller choice.” Zillow…
In a supplemental post-hearing brief filed by defendants Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) and Compass, the defendants argue that Zillow is not entitled to relief because “any harm, if it exists at all, is self-inflicted.” “If Zillow wants MRED’s feed, the ‘lifeblood’ of its business that it receives virtually for free, all Zillow has to…
CHICAGO—The CEOs of Compass and Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) each testified Thursday, July 2 that Zillow executives threatened them directly over their companies’ resistance to its listing access standards, with MRED CEO Rebecca Jensen recounting a Zillow executive’s warning that she could expect her “phone to be dumped” and all of her “text messages…
The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) has penned a letter requesting that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigate mega-brokerage Compass for its several recent partnerships with MLSs that simultaneously expanded their platforms nationwide, alleging that the deals “raise significant anti-consumer concerns” and potentially “violate fair housing protections.” Specifically, the…
Above, the Everett McKinley Dirksen Courthouse in Chicago where the hearing is taking place. Photo by Clarissa Garza. CHICAGO—Zillow, Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) and Compass squared off in a Chicago courtroom Wednesday in a preliminary injunction hearing, kicking off two days of testimony, where a federal judge will decide whether Zillow can continue banning…
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