Zillow files antitrust lawsuit against 2 major MLSs

Zillow and ShowingTime have taken the unprecedented step of filing an antitrust lawsuit against two multiple listing services, accusing them of giving a new MLS-owned tool an unfair advantage.

Zillow filed a complaint in U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona against Arizona Regional MLS and MLS Inc. for what it asserts are violations of federal antitrust law. The company claims the MLSs conspired to restrict access to Zillow’s home showing management platform ShowingTime in favor of creating a monopoly in their respective markets for Aligned Showings, a showings platform recently launched by MLS Aligned, a consortium of MLSs.

In the complaint, Zillow points out that the two named MLSs, which operate in the Phoenix and Milwaukee regions, plan to disable their integrations with ShowingTime, effectively giving agents no choice but to use Aligned Showings. ARMLS announced they would remove their deep integration with ShowingTime effective today, Dec. 27, 2023. It is set to be removed from MetroMLS system by February 2024, according to the complaint.

“The MLSs declined all offered alternatives and resolutions, leaving their agent members with no choice, and giving Aligned Showings an effective monopoly in their regions,” Zillow Chief Industry Development Officer Errol Samuelson wrote in an open letter to agents. “As a last resort, we filed a legal complaint because we believe the actions by these two MLSs are anticompetitive and disadvantage agents — and consumers — in these markets.”

The filing represents the first time Zillow has pursued legal action against an MLS.

The complaint argues that the MLSs are attempting to create a monopoly on home showing platforms in their markets, where they are already the only options for multiple listing services.

“By making Aligned Showings the only integrated option on the MLS member portal, the MLS Defendants are substantially foreclosing ShowingTime from their markets and giving Aligned Showings a monopoly over showing management platforms in their respective regions,” the complaint states. “If Defendants succeed there will be no competition to spur improvements to their product or to prevent Defendants from raising prices for their product.”

A representative for ARMLS declined to comment on the lawsuit, while MLS Inc. could not be reached prior to publication.

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