Attorney General Kris Mayes is teaming up with four other states to sue Zillow and Redfin. They say these two huge rental listing websites made a deal that's bad for renters and could make rent even more expensive.
It began in February 2025, when Zillow paid Redfin $100 million to essentially cease competing with them. Now, Redfin's rental websites display Zillow's listings instead of their own.
"Arizonans are already facing an astronomical cost of living – and now these massive companies want to create an unfair advantage in the market, which will allow them to skyrocket costs for landlords, who will use it as an excuse to charge even more money for rent," said Kris Mayes. "We can't just sit by and allow costs to go up and up and up."
Companies Control
The rental listing market has become really concentrated. Before this deal, just three companies, Zillow, Redfin, and CoStar, controlled 85% of the entire market. Now, with Redfin out of the game, there's even less competition.
When companies are not competing, they can charge whatever they want. Property managers pay more to advertise on these sites, and they pass those costs onto renters through higher rent.
Redfin agreed not to compete with Zillow for up to nine years. They even handed over business records and introduced their old customers directly to Zillow's salespeople.
Future of the Case
The lawsuit claims that this deal violates federal laws designed to maintain competitive and fair markets. The states want a court to stop the agreement and possibly break up parts of the companies to restore competition.
This isn't Mayes' first fight against high rent costs. Last year, she sued another company, RealPage, for using software that allegedly helped landlords coordinate price increases.
The case was filed alongside attorneys general from Connecticut, New York, Virginia, and Washington, as well as the Federal Trade Commission, and is still pending.
