Judge denies FTC request to presume Zillow-Redfin deal ‘unlawful'

A federal court has turned down the Federal Trade Commission’s request to declare a rentals deal between Zillow and Redfin “presumptively unlawful” before trial next month. On Wednesday, July 8, Judge Anthony J. Trenga of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia denied the FTC’s motion for partial summary judgment in its case alleging Zillow and Redfin violated antitrust laws when Zillow paid $100 million to become Redfin’s exclusive multifamily rental listings provider in early 2025. After a hearing Wednesday morning, Trenga said he found “genuine disputes of material fact” regarding the FTC’s ask. Last October, five states joined the FTC in suing Zillow and Redfin over their rentals partnership, and the cases were merged in November. The defendants sought a dismissal earlier this year, which the judge denied, and on May 20 filed an official response to the FTC’s claims. The complaint is scheduled for a bench trial, meaning the judge will hear and decide the case without a jury, on Aug. 24. What the states and FTC asked for In their June 10 motion, the plaintiffs asked for declarations that would have put more of a burden on Zillow and Redfin at trial if they had been granted. Specifically, they asked the court to: Deem the nationwide market for internet listing service (ILS) advertising for rental properties and for multifamily rental properties as the “relevant markets” for the case Declare the Zillow-Redfin deal an “acquisition of assets” under Section 7 of the Clayton Act, which prohibits mergers and acquisitions that would substantially lessen competition Declare the deal “presumptively unlawful” for further concentrating already highly concentrated relevant markets and therefore lessening competition Zillow, Redfin dispute FTC assum...