Published on Oct 15, 2026
Senators Cory Booker, D-NJ, and Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, today called on FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson to open an investigation into allegedly anticompetitive and deceptive practices in the online real estate marketplace. In a letter obtained by The Capitol Forum, Booker and Warren urge Ferguson to expand the FTC’s enforcement actions in the real estate market […]
Senators Cory Booker, D-NJ, and Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, today called on FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson to open an investigation into allegedly anticompetitive and deceptive practices in the online real estate marketplace.
In a letter obtained by The Capitol Forum, Booker and Warren urge Ferguson to expand the FTC’s enforcement actions in the real estate market following an order the agency filed in August. With the order, the commission required Rocket Companies’ (RKT) Redfin to reenter the online rental market after Zillow (Z) paid it to shut down its internet listing service.
The senators’ letter comes as Democrat and Republican candidates campaign in competitive midterm races on economic issues, including the housing affordability crisis. The lawmakers have said that online real estate companies’ allegedly illegal behavior has exacerbated this crisis.
Although the FTC acted against Redfin and Zillow, the administration has been less aggressive in other parts of the real estate sector. Early this year, DOJ senior leaders, over the objections of the department’s antitrust division, allowed Compass (COMP) to buy rival brokerage Anywhere Real Estate without issuing second requests.
The senators’ letter outlined three allegedly anticompetitive practice areas they want the FTC to investigate: online marketplaces featuring a “contact agent” button that, when clicked, routes a buyer to an agent splitting a commission with the platform; funneling buyers to platform-affiliated mortgage lenders who offer unfavorable terms; and using private online listings to limit the pool of buyers.
Over the past two years, large brokerages have aggressively pushed these private listings, which is when a home is marketed without filing it with a multiple listings service (MLS), where it can be accessed by everyone. Compass, the No. 1 real estate brokerage in the U.S., is threatening to sue any MLS that attempts to block private listings.
Booker and Warren say in the letter that the practice artificially restricts housing stock to the detriment of buyers and sellers.
The senators’ request for a probe follows an investigation that House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee Chairman Scott Fitzgerald, R-WI, launched this summer into Compass and Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED). The companies sent executives to testify in closed sessionswith the panel.
Warren sent a letter in August to both companies’ CEOs, probing their private listing practices—indicating a rare area of bipartisan interest that could continue in the next Congress.
Booker, the senior Democrat on the Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee, and Warren, ranking member on the Senate Banking Committee, in today’s letter also urged the FTC to investigate real estate companies’ undisclosed commission-sharing arrangements. The practices occur when prospective buyers are lured into selecting a “contact agent” button on a listing, sending them to platform-affiliated agents who have committed to share an undisclosed part of their commission with the platform.
Lastly, the lawmaker’s letter calls on the FTC to examine mortgage lenders allegedly steering platform-affiliated agents to work with them, often resulting in higher rates and worse loan terms.
An FTC spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter.
Online real estate listing giant Zillow’s Flex referrals program could violate the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act because it requires agents to steer homebuyers to the company’s in-house mortgage arm. The program has been the focus of class-action lawsuits.
The company has said its Flex program improves the consumer’s experience.
“Our approach prioritizes transparency and consumer choice, ensuring consumers receive the information and services they want and ask for at the right time throughout their real estate journey,” a Zillow spokesperson said last year.
Today’s letter builds upon Booker’s earlier work to bolster the housing market. His Transit-Oriented Housing Development Act would boost investments in affordable housing near transit hubs and aims to create 2 million housing units nationwide.
Warren and Booker were among the lead Democrats on the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which became law earlier this year. With the legislation, Congress is attempting to increase the nation’s housing supply, reduce barriers to homeownership and lower housing costs.
