A coalition of consumer protection, housing, civil rights and fair competition groups urged federal regulators Wednesday to investigate Compass’ deal with Midwest Real Estate Data to expand private listing networks nationwide.
The move escalates watchdog scrutiny of limited-access listing channels at the same moment that Zillow, Compass and MRED have returned to federal court in Chicago.
In a letter to the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice, the groups argued that Compass’ agreement with MRED — and similar arrangements with other MLSs — could reduce listing transparency, weaken competition among brokerages and raise fair housing concerns.
“We urge you to investigate whether the agreement constitutes an unlawful effort to reduce transparency and fair competition for homebuyers and sellers,” the groups wrote.
The coalition also framed the issue as one of housing affordability and market access, warning regulators that “dominant firms” should not be allowed to use “consolidation and exclusive listing practices to reduce transparency, entrench market power, and limit fair access to housing opportunities.”
The letter was signed by the Consumer Federation of America, American Economic Liberties Project, Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, Consumer Action, Demand Progress Education Fund, National Consumer Law Center, Rise Economy and Woodstock Institute.
Groups warn of private listing harms
While this week’s hearing in Chicago centers on Zillow’s listing access standards and MRED’s decision to cut off Zillow’s listing feed in May, the letter focused more broadly on the expansion of private listing networks and the consumer, competition and fair housing concerns raised by limited-access listing channels.
“These deals raise significant anti-consumer concerns as they threaten to reduce transparency and undermine competition in residential real estate markets,” the coalition said in the letter.
In April, Compass struck a deal with MRED to expand the Chicago-based MLS’ Private Listing Network nationwide. Compass also offered to subsidize part of the cost of joining MRED for the first 100,000 Compass agents who join MRED as full members. Since then, Compass has also announced similar agreements with Bright MLS, Realtracs and MLS/CLAW, according to the letter.
The watchdog coalition argued that those agreements could reduce consumer choice, impede price competition and increase steering incentives by encouraging transactions within affiliated broker networks. They also warned that private listing networks could limit buyers’ access to homes for sale, particularly in tight housing markets.
“Buyers may never even find out about houses for sale, putting their dream of homeownership further out of reach, in already tight national housing markets with limited inventory,” the groups wrote.
Fair housing concerns also featured prominently in the new letter. The groups cited prior Zillow research on MRED’s Private Listing Network in metro Chicago, which found that homes in majority-white neighborhoods were more likely to be marketed through private channels than homes in majority non-white neighborhoods.
“By controlling who can even see houses for sale, these private networks raise broader concerns about the selective exclusion of protected classes of consumers,” the groups wrote.
Letter lands as Zillow, Compass and MRED return to court
The letter landed as Zillow, Compass and MRED began a two-day preliminary injunction hearing in the Northern District of Illinois. The hearing is expected to determine what restrictions remain in place while the broader antitrust case proceeds, including whether Zillow can enforce its listing access standards against MRED listings and whether MRED can withhold its listing feed from Zillow.
Zillow has argued that Compass and MRED are using private listing networks to restrict access to inventory and undermine competition. Compass and MRED have accused Zillow of using its platform power to dictate how listings are marketed.
Zillow has also moved to compete for earlier-stage listings. This year, the portal announced Zillow Preview, a coming-soon channel launched with initial participation from Keller Williams, REMAX, HomeServices of America, Side and United Real Estate. Zillow has framed the channel as a public-facing alternative to private networks, but the move underscores the broader industry scramble for control over listing visibility before homes fully hit the open market.
Zillow sued MRED and Compass in May, alleging the companies conspired to threaten its access to Chicago-area listings unless the portal displayed Compass listings that Zillow said violated its listing access standards. MRED later cut off Zillow’s feed on May 20, before a federal judge ordered the MLS to restore Zillow’s access two days later.
CFA’s most recent publicly available Form 990, covering 2024, does not identify Zillow as a major funder. When asked whether Zillow provides financial support to CFA, a Zillow spokesperson told Inman the company does not provide major financial support to the organization, though they added that Zillow has sponsored some CFA events over the years.
Inman has also reached out to Compass and MRED for comment on the CFA-led letter.
Watchdog pressure is not new
Watchdog pressure on Compass has been building for several months. Consumer advocate groups and elected officials have increasingly scrutinized Compass’ growth strategy, including its acquisition of Anywhere Real Estate, its growing market share in major housing markets and concerns that private listings could lead to more in-house transactions.
In April, the Consumer Policy Center released a report finding that Compass had built commanding market share in several major housing markets and was increasingly keeping transactions within its own network at rates that outpaced many competitors.
The report, based on 5,000 recent home sales across Boston, Washington, D.C., Chicago, San Diego and Austin, found that the combined Compass and Anywhere entity held between 30 percent and 39.5 percent of unit sales across all five markets studied. In Washington, D.C., the report found Compass’ double-ending rate reached 41 percent.
The new letter also cited earlier calls from Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other lawmakers for federal regulators to scrutinize Compass’ acquisition of Anywhere. In a December letter, Warren and Sen. Ron Wyden urged the DOJ and FTC to investigate Compass’ acquisition of Anywhere. In a separate February letter, Warren and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer raised concerns about the impact of the deal on housing costs and competition.
Compass has previously pushed back on criticism of its private listing strategy, arguing that sellers deserve more choice in how their homes are marketed. The company has also said its private exclusives are accessible to agents outside Compass and that its agents are expected to act in their clients’ best interests.
Meanwhile, Zillow has framed its listing access standards as a consumer transparency measure, arguing that homes marketed to some buyers should be made broadly available to the public. MRED has argued that Zillow’s rules overstep the portal’s role and interfere with how brokers and MLSs serve sellers.
The consumer groups closed their letter by urging federal regulators to ensure that dominant firms do not use consolidation and exclusive listing practices to reduce transparency or limit access to housing opportunities.
“One company should not be able to monopolize access to the American Dream,” the groups wrote.
