The FTC settlement forces Redfin back into rental listings – and could reset pricing for landlords
Zillow Group settled with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and five state attorneys general on Monday over allegations that a $100 million agreement with Redfin had illegally suppressed rental listing competition.
The deal, struck in February 2025, saw Redfin exit the multifamily advertising market entirely – and regulators said landlords paid the price.
The agreement, announced hours before trial was set to begin in a Virginia federal court, preserves the existing syndication partnership between Zillow and Redfin while requiring Redfin to relaunch its independent rental advertising business within six months.
Under the settlement terms, Redfin may continue displaying Zillow-provided listings on its platforms through at least 2030, but must rebuild its own competing unit alongside.
How a syndication deal became an antitrust case
The original agreement, struck in February 2025, paid Redfin – a subsidiary of Rocket Companies – $100 million plus referral fees to exit the multifamily property advertising business for up to nine years.
Redfin shuttered its rental ad unit, laid off more than 400 employees, and transferred its advertising customers to Zillow.
Rent.com and ApartmentGuide, both Redfin properties, were retooled to carry exclusively Zillow listings.
The FTC and attorneys general from New York, Virginia, Arizona, Connecticut, and Washington argued the arrangement amounted to a competitor buyout.
A government expert estimated that after Redfin's exit, Zillow customers paid an average of 14.5% more per listing.
With more than 30% of Americans renting their homes, according to US Census Bureau data, the agency viewed the competitive damage as broadly significant.
When FTC first filed suit, it noted that Zillow, Redfin, and CoStar's Apartments.com collectively control more than 80% of the online apartment advertising market, making any reduction in head-to-head rivalry consequential for lenders and housing finance professionals monitoring multifamily market health.
What the settlement means for landlords and renters
Daniel Guarnera, director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition, described the settlement as delivering "better, quicker, more certain results for both renters and property management companies than we would have been able to achieve after prevailing at trial, including firm and enforceable commitments by Redfin to relaunch its rentals advertising business."
Michael Sherman, general manager and senior vice president of Zillow Rentals, framed the resolution as a win for all sides: "Our syndication partnership with Redfin has already expanded access to multifamily listings across multiple platforms, bringing more leads and leases to property managers and more options to renters."
By 2027, both companies will also offer standalone multifamily advertising products alongside the existing syndication arrangement, giving property managers greater flexibility in how they reach renters.
For mortgage professionals tracking how rising rental costs are straining aspiring homebuyers across the country, the settlement may ease pricing pressure on the advertising side of the rental equation.
Still, the immediate effect on rents themselves is less certain. National apartment rents have barely moved in 2026, rising just 0.1% in June, according to Apartments.com data, with vacancy rates edging up to 7.3% in the first quarter of 2026.
It suggests that the broader rental market is already navigating supply and demand pressures independent of the listing platform competition restored by Monday's ruling.
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