Top Republicans in the House and Senate antitrust subcommittees want the FTC to dig into Zillow’s plans to buy a home-showing scheduling platform amid concerns about competition in the residential real estate market.
Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) sent a letter on Thursday to the FTC that raises antitrust questions related to the residential real estate industry and specifically Zillow Group’s pending $500 million acquisition of ShowingTime. Axios first reported the news.
The letter highlights the growing antitrust scrutiny on tech giants in various industries and is the latest antitrust-related criticism facing Seattle-based Zillow.
Zillow announced in February that it will pay $500 million to acquire ShowingTime, a Chicago-based real estate company that sells software to facilitate home showings.
Related: Zillow Faces Private Antitrust Suit
The Republican lawmakers say the deal, which is still pending, “may further entrench Zillow’s consumer information advantage to the detriment of homebuyers and their competitors.”
The letter cites Zillow’s home buying business and its Zestimate property valuation tool, in addition to other acquisitions including purchases of Dotloop, Bridge Interactive, StreetEasy, and nakedapartments.
“While the consumer experience might benefit from certain technological innovations in the real estate industry, antitrust enforcers should be vigilant to ensure that a competitive environment is maintained and the online real estate industry does not become overly consolidated in the hands of a dominant platform to the detriment of competition and consumers,” the letter reads.
“Key to our mission is our work to modernize the real estate transaction — which has been notoriously resistant to consumer-friendly change over the decades. By building an open and equitable service which is available to all agents and brokers, which will include ShowingTime, we are helping move the industry towards a more efficient, digital future that works to benefit consumers,” a Zillow spokesperson said in a statement.
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Republicans Want FTC Zillow
Featured News
UK’s CMA Investigates Education Software Company for Market Abuse
May 14, 2024 by
CPI
Schumer Urges FTC Caution on Chevron’s $53B Hess Deal Over Gas Price Fears
May 14, 2024 by
CPI
Amazon Urges US Judge to Block FTC Probe into Data Preservation
May 14, 2024 by
CPI
Colorado Makes History: First State to Enact Comprehensive AI Legislation
May 14, 2024 by
CPI
Class Action Settlement Reached in Cheerleading Monopoly
May 14, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Ecosystems
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Mapping Antitrust onto Digital Ecosystems
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Ecosystems and Competition Law: A Law and Political Economy Approach
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Ecosystem Theories of Harm: What is Beyond the Buzzword?
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Open Ecosystems: Benefits, Challenges, and Implications for Antitrust
May 9, 2024 by
CPI