Key facts
- MRED warns its legal battle with Zillow over listing display rules could reintroduce antitrust risks for multiple listing services.
- The dispute stems from Zillow's listing access standards policy, which MRED claims conflicts with its IDX data licensing agreement.
- MRED argues that allowing Zillow to filter listings would enable any brokerage to do the same, harming the cooperative marketplace.
- Zillow maintains its policy is applied objectively and equally to all listings.
- MRED CEO Rebecca Jensen testified about a call where she declined a request to delay private listings on Zillow, citing past antitrust settlements.
Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) has cautioned that its ongoing legal conflict with Zillow regarding the display of property listings could potentially revive federal antitrust scrutiny for multiple listing services. According to a blog post from the Chicagoland MLS, MRED believes the current lawsuit challenges long-standing principles of broker cooperation and fair competition.
MRED draws a parallel between the current dispute and the Department of Justice's 2008 settlement with the National Association of Realtors (NAR). This settlement established a principle that MLSs and brokers must treat competing business models consistently, preventing the exclusion of listings from competing brokerages' websites. Although these settlement terms expired in November 2018, MRED argues Zillow's listing access standards policy violates the spirit of this agreement.
The core of Zillow's lawsuit against MRED, filed in May, questions whether MRED can legally suspend its Internet Data Exchange (IDX) and VOW listing data feeds to Zillow if the portal filters or suppresses certain listings. MRED contends that if Zillow is allowed to selectively display listings from an MLS feed, it would permit any brokerage to curate competitors' listings, potentially undermining the comprehensive search experience consumers expect.
A Zillow spokesperson stated that the company's policy applies objectively and equally to all listings, regardless of brokerage. The spokesperson criticized MRED's stance, suggesting it amounts to 'picking sides' and protecting a private listing network rather than consumer transparency.
MRED CEO Rebecca Jensen testified that she declined a request from Zillow's chief industry development officer to delay private listings on Zillow, citing her experience with the 2008 DOJ lawsuit. Jensen emphasized that MRED's IDX display rules were established as a result of that settlement and that she would prefer to face a lawsuit from Zillow than from the DOJ.