NAR has ‘bled Realtors dry,’ new antitrust suit alleges 

Another real estate broker is suing the National Association of Realtors alongside local and state Realtor associations, alleging that their "monopoly power" over multiple listing services and "essential" business tools constitutes a "metastasized cartel" that has "bled Realtors dry."

Meanwhile, REX has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a March 2025 ruling in favor of Zillow and NAR, and in Compass' lawsuit against Zillow, a judge is allowing Zillow Co-founder Lloyd Frink to be deposed on Sept. 24.

NAR faces a new mandatory membership lawsuit

The parties involved in the case: William Whittman, a broker at Proplocate Realty who serves the greater Washington, D.C. market, filed an antitrust lawsuit against NAR, Virginia Realtors, Maryland Realtors, Northern Virginia Association of Realtors and Greater Capital Area Association of Realtors. 

Whittman, who is representing himself, filed the complaint on Sept. 19 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

Associations as 'cartels': Whittman alleges that the associations are "predatory gatekeepers" who restrict access to "essential" business tools unless agents and brokers pay for memberships — not only at the local, state and national levels, but across local jurisdictions.

"Instead of facilitating Realtors' work," the complaint alleges, associations have created barriers, "mimicking a cartel of unprecedented scale."

Whittman pays $1,051 in annual dues to two local Realtor associations that funnel part of that money to state associations and NAR — yet he says he still can't access MLSs, lockboxes and forms in neighboring counties. 

Because agents can't join local Realtor associations unless their broker does, Whittman said agents have left his firm when he wouldn't pay "duplicative, crippling fees."

"This metastasized cartel has bled Realtors dry, enriching itself" while brokers like him are "unable to expand, hire, or compete fairly," Whittman alleges.

What Whittman is seeking: The complaint calls for structural changes that would enable agents and brokers to gain access to forms, MLSs and lockboxes across the state with a single Realtor membership. 

Whittman, who stresses that he would have expanded nationwide had it not been for the associations' rules, says he's suffered "millions of dollars in damages" from the defendants' "unlawful tying scheme," including "lost agents, collapsed transactions, diminished firm value, and the destruction of his brokerage's growth."

He is asking for $2 billion in punitive damages, $50 million in treble damages, the costs of the suit and injunctive relief, among other requests.

The suit is the latest targeting NAR's three-way membership agreement. Other cases have been filed in California, Michigan, Texas, Pennsylvania and Louisiana.

What NAR had to say: "NAR membership is optional," a spokesperson told Real Estate News via email. "Similar to other national membership organizations, NAR's integrated structure at the national, state and local level is fundamental to the value we deliver to members."

The spokesperson noted that "two separate courts ruled against similar challenges and we will similarly respond to these allegations in Court," referring to the Texas and Pennsylvania cases ruled on in July. Those rulings have been appealed.

REX appeals to the US Supreme Court

REX, a now-defunct low-fee brokerage that filed an antitrust lawsuit four years ago against Zillow and NAR over their alleged attempts to conceal non-MLS listings on Zillow's site, has not given up.

The firm filed a petition on Sept. 15 asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a March ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. That ruling affirmed a lower court's finding that Zillow and NAR did not conspire against REX because NAR's "no-commingling rule," which the trade group repealed in June, was optional.

The petition notes that, despite the March ruling in REX's case, different appeals courts have been split on the broader question of whether trade associations can avoid antitrust liability by making certain rules optional.

Real Estate News has reached out to NAR and Zillow for comments on the latest petition.

Zillow co-founder to be deposed in Compass suit

In Compass' lawsuit against Zillow, a judge has granted the brokerage's request to depose Co-founder Lloyd Frink for four hours on Sept. 24.

Compass "adequately established Mr. Frink possesses unique and personal knowledge relevant to the pending preliminary injunction motion," Judge Jeannette A. Vargas wrote in her Sept. 19 order. Zillow had opposed the deposition request, arguing that it was unnecessary and amounted to "an apparent effort to harass Zillow."

Vargas did, however, grant Zillow's request to redact portions of materials filed in the case, which Zillow said could cause the company "competitive harm." 

Real Estate News has reached out to Zillow for comment on the ruling.