A federal judge has denied a motion to dismiss antitrust cases filed against Zillow and Redfin, delivering a legal setback to the real estate listings giants.

Anthony Trenga, a senior U.S. district judge based in Virginia, noted “what appears from the face of the Complaint to be clearly anti-competitive conduct” by the defendants in his four-page decision issued May 6.

The Federal Trade Commission sued Zillow and Redfin on Sept. 30, 2025, alleging the companies engaged in anticompetitive practices when Zillow agreed to pay Redfin $100 million as part of a rental listings partnership inked in February 2025.

The next day, the attorneys general from Virginia, Arizona, Connecticut, New York and Washington filed a nearly identical lawsuit.

According to the FTC complaint, Redfin agreed to stop selling advertising to multifamily properties with 25 or more units for up to nine years and instead direct those customers to Zillow. The FTC alleged that constituted an “end run around competition” designed to eliminate Redfin as a rival in the multifamily advertising market.

In February, Zillow and Redfin requested the cases be thrown out. They argued the government was relying on a fundamentally flawed understanding of the digital real estate market, claiming the partnership benefits consumers by giving renters access to more listings.

But the plaintiffs argue the Zillow-Redfin partnership will harm consumers by concentrating Zillow’s power to charge landlords higher listing fees, which could lead apartment managers to charge higher rents in response.

In a statement issued May 7, Zillow downplayed the court ruling, saying the decision “simply allows the case to move forward.”

“We remain confident we will demonstrate the pro-competitive and consumer benefits of our partnership with Redfin in court,” the company stated. “In the meantime, our work supporting renters and housing providers continues uninterrupted.” 

In a statement provided to Scotsman Guide, a Redfin spokesperson said the company “remains confident we will be vindicated by a court of law,” noting that it “strongly disagrees” with the FTC’s allegations.

“By the end of 2024, it was clear that the existing number of Redfin advertising customers couldn’t justify the cost of maintaining our rentals sales force,” the Redfin spokesperson stated. “Partnering with Zillow cut those costs and enabled us to invest more in rental-search innovations on Redfin.com, directly benefiting apartment seekers.”