Compass v. Zillow 

Filed in late-June 2025, the lawsuit contends that Zillow’s listing access standards policy, which bans listings that are not available for display on Zillow within one business day of them being publicly marketed, stifles competition and has caused irreparable harm to Compass. 

Compass has filed a motion for a preliminary injunction preventing Zillow from enforcing the policy, which they began rolling out nationwide on June 30, 2025. As of early November, Zillow was enforcing the policy in over 500 MLSs nationwide. In mid-October, Zillow published a post on its investor website noting that since it began notifying agents of non-compliant listings over the summer, roughly 90% of agents who receive a notice only receive one. 

Over the summer, the two parties were engaged in an expedited discovery process related to a hearing scheduled for Nov. 18, 2025, regarding Compass’s motion for a preliminary injunction. 

In a supplemental brief filed by Compass ahead of the hearing, the Robert Reffkin-helmed firm claims to have uncovered evidence that Zillow and Redfin, which is not a defendant in the lawsuit, but which also announced its own yet-to-be enforced listing access standards policy, colluded to prevent competition. 

CoStar v. Zillow

CoStar was the next to file a lawsuit against Zillow. In its suit filed in late-July in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, CoStar accuses Zillow of “rampant” copyright infringement of listing photos. The complaint claims that Zillow’s unauthorized use of CoStar images amounts to one of the largest real estate image infringement cases in history. The photos in questions of rental properties that appear on its site, as well as on Redfin and Realtor.com, through syndication deals. 

Last week, Zillow filed a motion to transfer the case from the Southern District of New York to a District Court in Seattle, where the company is based. In that motion, Zillow criticized CoStar’s litigation tactics, claiming that CoStar deliberately chose a forum outside the Ninth Circuit, where Zillow has previously gained favorable rulings, and implied that CoStar could have resolved the matter by asking Zillow to remove the photos instead of filing a lawsuit. 

This is not the first time Zillow has been sued for copyright infringement. It was previously sued by real estate photography firm VHT and was ordered to pay millions after a jury found it liable.

Herrera v. Zillow 

Filed in mid-September in U.S. District Court in Denver by Samuel James Herrera, who calls himself “a day-one Zillow employee,” the lawsuit alleges that Herrera was wrongfully terminated by Zillow in February 2024. According to the complaint, Herrera was forced out of the company after he complained of discrimination.

In the complaint, Herrera claims that Zillow conducted an extensive investigation into Herrera after a terminated employee accused him of sexual harassment and discrimination. Herrera was cleared in the investigation; however, he claims that the feedback he received from company leaders “was filled with stereotypes about Hispanic men.” 

Herrera’s time at Zillow ended in February 2024 after he took a veteran Zillow employee to a five-hour, $724 dinner to ask for advice on a difficult project. According to the complaint, Herrera had received approval for the dinner and that the total cost was “not extraordinary for Zillow working dinners.”

Despite this alleged approval, Herrera said he was terminated for allegedly violating the company’s travel and expense policy. 

Zillow has clarified that while the company was founded in 2004, Herrera was not hired until 2010. Additionally, the firm has stated that the “claims alleged in the complaint are inconsistent with Zillow’s culture and values,” and that the firm believes that they are “without merit.” 

Regulators v. Zillow

In addition to catching the ire of former employees and other real estate industry players, some of Zillow’s actions have also caught the attention of both state and federal regulators. 

In mid-February 2025, Zillow announced a $100 million multifamily rental syndication deal with Redfin. Through the partnership, Zillow became the exclusive provider of multifamily listings on Redfin, Rent.com and ApartmentGuide.com. 

This apparently piqued the interest of both the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and attorneys general in Virginia, Arizona, Connecticut, New York and Washington. In late September, the FTC filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, in which it claimed that Redfin and Zillow conspired to eliminate competition in the rental listing space and that their syndication agreement violates antitrust laws. This suit was followed a day later by one filed by the five states’ attorneys general with identical claims. 

Zillow has maintained that the deal “benefits both renters and property managers and has expanded renters’ access to multifamily listings across multiple platforms.”

The suit has been stayed pending the resolution of the government shutdown. 

The RESPA claims 

To top things off, Zillow is now facing two lawsuits claiming that it has violated RESPA. The two suits both involve Zillow’s Flex and Premier Agent programs, but they differ in their claims. 

The first lawsuit was filed by home buyer plaintiff Alucard Taylor in U.S. District Court in Seattle in mid-September. The lawsuit alleges that the portal tricks consumers into using agents affiliated with Zillow through its Flex and Premier Agent programs, resulting in inflated home purchase prices. 

Taylor is being represented by Steve W. Berman, a named partner at class action litigation firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, the same firm that represented plaintiffs in the Moehrl commission lawsuit.

According to the complaint, Zillow has furthered its “scheme” to drive up agent commissions through its listing standards policy.

“This policy effectively requires sellers and their agents to forgo using other initial methods to advertise the home sale. The effect of this policy is to inflate the unjustly earned profits Zillow receives from its deceptive conduct, as it continues to increase its dominance of the market,” the filing states. 

But Taylor is not the only homebuyer plaintiff suing Zillow. Last week, homebuyer plaintiff Araba Armstrong filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Seattle claiming that Zillow used illegal kickbacks to bolster the rapid growth of its ZHL mortgage business.

According to the complaint, Zillow pressures agents in its Premier Agent and Flex lead programs to steer buyers to Zillow Home Loans for their purchase mortgage pre-approval. Allegedly, agents who sent more clients to Zillow’s mortgage arm for their pre-approvals received extra or higher-quality leads in exchange. If agents in the Flex program fail to send a sufficient number of leads to ZHL for pre-approval, they risk being removed from the program. 

A Zillow spokesperson clarified that there are a number of factors Zillow considers and several requirements an agent must meet to be part of the Zillow Flex program. Zillow said that this list of factors is examined when considering to reduce a number of leads an agent receives, remove them from the program or increase the number of leads they receive.

This is not the first time Zillow has dealt with allegations of a RESPA violation related to its mortgage program. In 2023, prior to the launch of ZHL, Zillow settled a class action lawsuit related to its mortgage co-marketing program. The program was also allegedly under investigation by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), but the investigation was dropped without the CFPB issuing an enforcement action.  

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According to the latest Cotality Home Price Index, U.S. home price growth slowed to its weakest pace in nearly two years in September 2025, as rising housing inventory and cooling demand weighed on values across much of the country.

The index showed national prices up 1.2% from a year earlier, underscoring a market that is gradually losing steam. Total housing inventory reached its highest level since 2019, giving buyers more choices but also contributing to a moderation in price gains.

While the Northeast continues to defy the slowdown, with home values climbing at a high single-digit rate, other regions are seeing uneven performance. Alaska and Wyoming, which had lagged for much of the past two years, posted a surprise rebound with price gains above 5% year-over-year.

At the metro level, signs of weakness are spreading. About 20% of the 411 metropolitan areas tracked by Cotality recorded annual price declines in September — the largest share since June 2023, when surging mortgage rates last cooled the market.

“Much like the K-shaped trend in consumer spending — where higher-income households continue to spend while lower-income groups pull back — today’s housing market reflects widening affordability gaps,” said Dr. Selma Hepp, Cotality’s chief economist. “Weaker job growth, sluggish wages, and deteriorating household finances are dampening demand among lower-income buyers, putting downward pressure on prices.”

Though mortgage rates have eased in recent weeks and home prices have softened in some markets, affordability remains a major hurdle. Cotality’s analysis found that three-quarters of the top 100 housing markets remain overvalued, and real mortgage payments — excluding taxes and insurance — are up 72% from pre-pandemic levels.

Still, strength in the Northeast is propping up national averages. “Major metros such as Boston, New York, and Philadelphia remain resilient thanks to strong finance, biotech, healthcare, and education sectors,” Hepp said. “These industries provide income stability and attract high-earning professionals who can sustain elevated home prices. Nearby mid-sized metros offering better value are also benefiting as hybrid workers look beyond city centers.”

Analysts say that while the recent dip in borrowing costs could spark a modest pickup in demand heading into 2026, a broader recovery will likely depend on a steadier labor market and stronger consumer confidence.

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