Zillow agrees to pay Redfin US$100 million to settle FTC antitrust case
Zillow Group Inc will pay Redfin Corp US$100 million to settle an FTC antitrust case over a 2025 rental-listing partnership that regulators said would have stifled competition.
Source: TechCrunch · August 24, 2026 at 10:24 PM · AI-assisted report
Single-sourceWASHINGTON, 25 AUGUST 2026 —
Zillow Group Inc will pay Redfin Corp US$100 million to settle an FTC antitrust case over a 2025 rental-listing partnership that regulators said would have stifled competition.
Market Impact
The settlement, announced hours before a scheduled trial on Monday, requires Redfin to re-enter the rental advertising market and removes limits that kept its Rent.com and ApartmentGuide.com off the market since the tie-up was announced. Redfin can now sell ads, display its own listings and pursue new customers without sharing sensitive data with Zillow.
The FTC and attorneys-general from Arizona, Connecticut, New York, Virginia and Washington argued the original 2025 deal would have barred Redfin from competing for property-management advertising for up to nine years. They said Zillow’s US$100 million payment was the price of buying off a key rival, risking higher prices and poorer service for property managers.
Zillow and Redfin defended the partnership as a way to expand rental choices for consumers. Under the settlement, Redfin will continue to display Zillow’s rental listings while regaining full access to the rental-advertising market. Zillow retains the right to keep Redfin off its own platforms.
The case follows the Department of Justice’s settlement with Ticketmaster earlier this year and the April judgment won by 26 state attorneys-general against Live Nation. For Malaysian investors, the FTC’s move shows global antitrust enforcers are prepared to unwind exclusionary deals that could suppress competition.
Related: Washington