Zillow, Redfin Settle FTC Case Over Rental Listings

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission reached a settlement resolving its antitrust case against Zillow Group Inc. and Rocket Companies Inc.’s Redfin, the agency said.

Redfin will re-enter the market to independently sell online rental listings, an FTC lawyer told a judge in federal court in Virginia, where a trial had been scheduled to start Monday. The companies will also pay $2 million to reimburse state attorneys general who brought the case along with the agency, FTC lawyer Allyson Maltas said.

Related: FTC Says Zillow Paid Redfin $100M to Stop Competing on Rental Listings

The FTC said in a statement that the order will restore competition in the online platforms that renters use to find apartments and property managers use to list rentals. Zillow said in a separate statement that the deal will allow its partnership with Redfin to continue. Redfin said that the settlement would allow it to continue syndicating Zillow’s listings while it reinvests in a stand-alone rental listings business.

The agency sued Zillow and Redfin last year, arguing a partnership between the companies on rental listings violated U.S. antitrust law. A trial in the case had been scheduled to begin Monday morning.

Top photo: The Zillow website on a laptop. Bloomberg.