Weekly Real Estate News
Summary
Senators Warren and Booker requested an FTC investigation into potentially anticompetitive online real estate marketplace practices, including referral arrangements, mortgage steering and private listings.
Lawmakers raise concerns about agent referrals, mortgage steering and private listings as scrutiny of Zillow, Compass and the online homebuying market intensifies.
Update: October 20, 2026
Since this story broke last week, executives from both Zillow and Compass have responded to requests from Weekly Real Estate News.
Zillow’s Communications Director, Matt Kreamer, made this statement:
“Too many Americans are locked out of homeownership, and we share Sens. Booker and Warren’s focus on fixing that. We agree that hidden listings deserve further scrutiny and have long called for more transparency to ensure that every buyer has access to every home for sale. At Zillow, we’re committed to helping more people get home.”
Zillow has previously published what the company believes are the drivers of the affordability crisis. Kreamer pointed out that the company had “long been advocating for transparency along with the majority of the industry.”
Zillow said the Senators’ letter cited reporting and third parties that “mischaracterize how our business actually works.”
Earlier today, Weekly Real Estate News reported on Zillow’s move to put listing and financing data into Claude AI.
On October 16, Compass filed an antitrust lawsuit against California Regional Multiple Listing Service (CRMLS), alleging that it was fining and punishing agents for publicly marketing homes as lawfully instructed by their clients. In its press release, Compass said it would pay agent fines related to this action.
These moves by both companies seem to weaken the claims in the Senator’s letter. The FTC has not responded publicly to the letter.
Original Story: October 16, 2026
U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker have called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate potentially anticompetitive and deceptive practices in the online residential real estate marketplace, raising new questions about how major real estate platforms and brokerages influence homebuying transactions.
In an October 15 letter to FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, the senators urged federal regulators to examine business practices they contend may be increasing housing costs, limiting competition and preventing consumers from making fully informed decisions.
Warren is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. Booker is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights.
The letter identifies three practices the lawmakers believe warrant federal investigation.
First, the senators questioned online real estate platforms that direct consumers seeking information about listed properties to participating agents who share a portion of their commissions with the platforms. The lawmakers expressed concern that consumers may not understand these financial arrangements.
Second, they raised allegations that agents participating in platform referral programs are pressured to direct homebuyers toward affiliated mortgage lenders, potentially limiting opportunities to compare loan costs and terms.
Third, the senators criticized private listing networks that restrict access to properties before they become available to the broader marketplace. They argued that such practices could reduce competition among buyers and prevent sellers from receiving maximum exposure for their properties.
The letter comes amid an ongoing dispute between Zillow and Compass over the marketing and distribution of residential property listings. The companies have taken opposing positions on private listing strategies, with Compass advocating greater flexibility for sellers and Zillow emphasizing broad public access to listings.
In effect, the lawmakers seem to contend that both companies are bad actors, calling on the FTC to investigate.
The lawmakers’ concerns extend beyond that dispute, however, encompassing the financial relationships among online listing platforms, real estate agents and mortgage lenders.
The request also follows federal antitrust enforcement involving Zillow. In August, the FTC announced a stipulated order resolving its case challenging an agreement between Zillow and Redfin involving online rental advertising. The current congressional request asks regulators to extend their scrutiny to the homebuying marketplace.
The October 15 letter does not itself initiate an FTC investigation, and the allegations it raises have not been established as violations of federal law.
The senators have previously questioned major real estate transactions, including the Rocket–Redfin acquisition and the Compass–Anywhere merger, over concerns about competition and consumer costs.
Weekly Real Estate News has requested comments from Zillow and Compass regarding the senators’ letter.
WRE News will continue reporting on the companies’ responses, the FTC’s reaction, and the potential implications for real estate professionals and consumers as the story develops.
Booker needs to tell us where the millions went for Newark schools because it certainly didn’t go to the schools which is what we paid it for as taxpayers.
Good lord Zillow realtor Homes.com Redfin and every other platform out there provides the information not out of the goodness of their hearts, but to make a profit. Agents cooperate with those platforms to get clients they wouldn’t have gotten by agreeing to share a percentage of what they would have earned if not working with the referral partner because 70% of a sale is more money than 100% and sitting on the couch hoping your phone rings. Steering on the other hand pushing or directing clients to lenders or any other professional or trades person is already illegal and or at least a violation of the COE and can cost you both money and your license. This is another Nothing Burger so you can bet the NAR will bend over for anything they want to suggest again I mean it’s been a couple of years now since they put on the gimp suit and pranced around with that lawsuit.