Potential buyers browsing Zillow or Trulia for homes in the Chicago area have likely noticed significantly fewer listings.
That’s because the real estate company Zillow Group lost access Wednesday to thousands of property listings for its two websites, in the latest escalation of a legal battle with Lisle-based Midwest Real Estate Data.
The fight is over MRED’s private listing network, where homes for sale are shared among real estate professionals. And MRED followed through on a threat to cut Zillow’s access to its listing data feed.
There were nearly 5,000 Chicago homes listed on Zillow Tuesday, but as of Wednesday afternoon, that number plummeted to about 1,700. Meanwhile, other listing sites like Redfin and Realtor.com show about 5,000 to 8,000 listings in Chicago.
MRED manages listings — submitted by brokers — throughout Illinois, as well as parts of Wisconsin and Indiana. The regional multiple listing service has more than 43,000 members and processed more than 264,000 listings worth $43 billion in 2025.
The loss of listings on Zillow’s websites have made a behind-the-scenes real estate industry fight public. And it nowhinders some consumers in their search to buy a home, while also limiting the marketing opportunity for sellers.
Why is the cut off happening?
In April 2025, Zillow implemented new standards around what homes could appear on its websites.
The changes stipulated that homes marketed to buyers behind a paywall or login portal were not eligible to appear on Zillow because they’re private. Private listings, or so-called pocket listings, are commonplace in real estate. It’s often done for celebrities or prominent figures who may not want everyone knowing their pricey mansion is on the market.
Zillow said the change was designed to protect transparency and encourage a competitive market.
MRED announced in April that it was expanding its long-time private listing network nationwide, and New York-based brokerage Compass would feed its listings to MRED, including private listings.
MRED said in a news release at the time that it would “protect and safeguard agents” using its private listing network from being banned or penalized by feed recipients like Zillow.
The move pushed Zillow to sue MRED and Compass last week, accusing the two of violating federal antitrust law by conspiring to hide home listings from potential buyers. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, also said the deal creates a monopoly where buyers and sellers will only want to work with Compass agents.
Compass has become Chicago’s largest brokerage firm. It acquired Chicago agency @properties Christie’s International Real Estate in December 2024, and, more recently, Anywhere Real Estate in January. Anywhere’s brands include Coldwell Banker, Century 21, Corcoran and Sotheby’s International Realty.
What do MRED and Compass say?
Compass argues buyers have a right to market their property however they see fit. The brokerage said its partnership with MRED will give homeowners more choices and create a more competitive marketplace.
“Zillow is punishing agents for merely following their clients’ lawful instructions on how they want their homes marketed,” a Compass spokesperson said in a statement.
MRED had said Monday that it would suspend its feed of listing data to Zillow unless the company corrected a violation of its license agreements and MRED’s rules, which involved the refusal to display nine listings. The National Association of Realtors has longstanding rules that listing feeds like Zillow can’t filter out properties based on the agent or brokerage name. Compass said Zillow’s new policy does this by removing Compass’ listings from MRED.
“The rules of this MLS exist to protect every participating broker and every consumer who relies on a complete and accurate picture of the market,” Rebecca Jensen, president and CEO of MRED, said. “Those rules apply equally to every participant, regardless of the size of their audience or the reach of their platform. MRED enforces its rules consistently and fairly, and hopes that Zillow returns to operating consistent with its longstanding agreements with MRED.”
And MRED made good on its promise to cut off Zillow’s access. It means no new MRED listings will populate on Zillow. A Zillow spokesperson said the company worked Wednesday morning to also remove existing MRED listings.
“In a striking lesson in irony, Zillow has chosen not to display 43,000 MRED listings because it demands the right, and has filed a federal antitrust lawsuit to secure that right — to exclude nine listings it disfavors,” MRED said in a Wednesday news release.
The nine listings that violate its policies are private Compass listings in California, Florida and Georgia — all outside of MRED’s traditional operating area. Zillow said the number of violating listings will balloon from nine if it changes its policy for MRED.
“The people paying the price today are real. Sellers who listed their homes expecting to reach every buyer on Zillow. Buyers who just want to see every home available to them. Thousands of independent agents who had no voice in this decision and nothing to gain from it. MRED sacrificed them all to protect the hidden listing scheme of the largest brokerage in the country,” a Zillow spokesperson said in a statement.