This story originally appeared on Real Estate News.
One of the biggest lawsuits to capture the real estate industry’s attention over the past year has come to an abrupt end.
Compass International Holdings announced Wednesday that it is dismissing the lawsuit it filed last June against Zillow. The two industry titans have battled in court for months over Zillow’s Listing Access Standards, a policy barring listings that are publicly marketed but not widely available via the MLS.
Zillow shares rose slightly after the news broke.
Compass’ signature 3-phased marketing strategy, in which sellers are encouraged to launch their home as a Compass Private Exclusive and then enter a Compass Coming Soon phase before listing publicly via the MLS, had been in direct conflict with those standards.
The move comes a day after Compass Chairman and CEO Robert Reffkin appeared to extend an olive branch to the brokerage’s portal rival after Zillow introduced a change in its approach to pre-market listings.
Compass dismissed its lawsuit without prejudice, which means the company could file the case again at a later date.
What Compass said: Reffkin specifically cited Zillow’s “Preview” product announcement — which he referred to as a policy “reversal” — in a post on social media announcing the dismissal.
“Because of this reversal, we are dismissing our lawsuit against Zillow,” he wrote.
“Our goal has always been to give homeowners more choice to decide when, where, and how to market their homes. We are pleased to see that both other brokerages and portals are now recognizing the strong consumer demand for more options in how they sell their homes,” Reffkin’s post said.
“At Compass International Holdings, we will always defend our real estate professional’s ability to put their clients first, and we will continue to advocate for more choices, not fewer, for homeowners.”
What Zillow said: “Zillow welcomes Compass’ decision to voluntarily withdraw its lawsuit. As we said from the outset, the claims lacked merit, and the court’s preliminary injunction ruling reinforced that view,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
“The underlying issue remains: Private listing networks are not in the best interests of consumers, and they never have been. Restricting listings to hidden networks limits transparency, disadvantages buyers and sellers and undermines fair access to real estate information which is so critical in this housing affordability crisis,” the statement continued.
The Listing Access Standards “were introduced to protect core principles of competition, openness and access that support healthy markets and benefit homebuyers, sellers and agents,” and those standards “remain in effect.”
“Zillow will continue to choose not to display listings that were previously hidden from the public for the benefit of any one company. Any suggestion that these standards are no longer being enforced is incorrect,” the company said.
“Hidden listing networks that gate access to listings behind a registration wall or require buyers to work with a specific brokerage do not meet our standards and, to the extent Compass continues operating a network of inventory hidden in the shadows, those listings remain at odds with our standards.”
How we got here: Zillow, which has repeatedly advocated for listings transparency and an open marketplace, announced its Listing Access Standards in April 2025. At the time, the home search giant said the policy was designed to “create an even playing field” as the private listings trend gained momentum across the industry.
Compass, which has built its marketing strategy around private listings and the idea of “seller choice,” sued Zillow in June — days before the policy’s enforcement began — alleging that Zillow possessed “monopoly power” and was violating antitrust laws. Compass later alleged that a conspiracy existed between Zillow and Redfin after Redfin made moves to adopt a similar ban on certain private listings. That ban never took effect, and Compass has since made a deal to display its Coming Soon listings on Redfin.com.
Zillow had recently notched a win in its court battle with Compass. Months after filing a preliminary injunction asking the court to pause Zillow’s ban while the case proceeded, a judge denied Compass’ request in a Feb. 6 ruling that allowed Zillow to continue enforcing its listing standards.
Compass said at the time that it planned to move forward with the lawsuit, declaring that the judge’s ruling was “not a loss.”
Making nice? But much has changed since early February. After the home search site unveiled Zillow Preview, Reffkin’s Mar. 17 social media response to Zillow Preview seemed to signal some kind of vibe shift between the two companies — two industry giants that have been vocal in their criticism of each other’s policies.
“A sincere thank you to Zillow for offering homeowners more choice,” he wrote in response to Zillow’s announcement. “Sellers deserve the choice to decide when, where and how they market their homes.”
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