Hidden Zillow listings created fake supply shock, raising NYC rents, lawsuit says
This week, two New York City renters filed a class action complaint alleging that a brokerage business called Compass—which has been boycotting posting listings on free digital platforms like Zillow —has now delisted so many rental units that it has created a fake supply shock that is artificially raising rents. According to plaintiffs, Peter Castaneda and Haley Gelfand, Compass has bought so many brokerage firms over the past decade-plus that it maintains a monopoly, controlling “over 80 percent of the rental unit listings available for renters in Manhattan based on 2025 data.” With that monopoly, Compass can “literally dictate pricing for as much as 80 percent of Manhattan’s rental units,” renters argued. And now, Compass is allegedly trying to manipulate prices on other platforms, as well. Read full article Comments
This week, two New York City renters filed a class action complaint alleging that a brokerage business called Compass—which has been boycotting posting listings on free digital platforms like Zillow —has now delisted so many rental units that it has created a fake supply shock that is artificially raising rents.
According to plaintiffs, Peter Castaneda and Haley Gelfand, Compass has bought so many brokerage firms over the past decade-plus that it maintains a monopoly, controlling “over 80 percent of the rental unit listings available for renters in Manhattan based on 2025 data.”
Renters say hidden Zillow listings make it harder to afford living in New York City.
Supposedly scheming to raise rents in order to raise broker fees often pegged to rent prices, Compass went to war with Zillow, the most popular free real estate platform that never charges broker fees.
In New York City, a Zillow-owned platform called “StreetEasy” makes it easier for New Yorkers to find a unit without paying a broker fee. However, seemingly hoping to force more people to turn to brokers to find homes that couldn’t be found on free platforms, Compass started delisting thousands of homes from Zillow earlier this year. Renters’ complaint cited a Compass “playbook” that allegedly “involves hiding listings from the public” in an attempt to “enable its own agents to double-dip to increase revenue per transaction, boost its stock price, and effectively ignore the consumer.”
