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Supreme Court Closes Door on REX Antitrust Case Against Realtors Group

By  |  December 17, 2025

The U.S. Supreme Court has definitively closed the door on an antitrust lawsuit targeting the National Association of REALTORS®, reinforcing its earlier decision not to review the case after lower courts ruled in the trade group’s favor.

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    The dispute began in March 2021, when brokerage Real Estate Exchange, Inc., known as REX, filed suit against NAR and real estate platform Zillow. REX alleged that NAR’s optional non-commingling rule violated federal antitrust law, according to a statement outlining the case history. The policy, sometimes referred to as the “no commingling” rule, permitted multiple listing services to require listings from non-MLS sources to be displayed separately from MLS listings. That rule was later repealed in June.

    Federal courts repeatedly sided with NAR as the case moved through the judicial system. Judges in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle and later the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit both ruled against REX, per a statement summarizing the litigation. In October, the Supreme Court declined to hear REX’s appeal, and on Monday the justices denied the company’s request for a rehearing, effectively ending the case.

    Related: REX Asks SCOTUS to Revisit Case as Vegas Probe Intensifies

    Following the high court’s final decision, NAR emphasized that the rulings consistently rejected the antitrust claims. “As we have said from day one, NAR’s optional no-commingling rule was not an antitrust violation,” NAR General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Legal Jon Waclawski said following the Supreme Court’s decision. “Both the district court and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed this, and the Supreme Court has denied certiorari [a review of the case]. Local MLSs play a key role in fostering transparent, competitive and fair housing markets by delivering consumers the most accurate and up-to-date information on home listings. While the optional rule is no longer in effect, NAR remains committed to protecting the benefits MLSs provide agents, consumers and the industry.”

    The conclusion of the lawsuit comes months after NAR independently chose to eliminate the optional policy. The organization’s Executive Committee voted in June to repeal the rule, a move informed by feedback from MLS leaders about its declining use and relevance in local markets, according to a statement made at the time by Associate General Counsel and Vice President of Association Legal Affairs Charlie Lee.

    With the Supreme Court’s latest action, the long-running legal challenge has reached its end, leaving intact the earlier court decisions and closing the chapter on REX’s claims against the real estate trade group.

    Source: NAR