Zillow hit with another lawsuit over allegations of steering 

A Washington state real estate agent has filed a lawsuit against Zillow, adding to the growing number of cases accusing the company of pressuring agents to steer clients into its mortgage lending services.

Stephanie Dupuis, who owns a real estate team in Kitsap County, filed the complaint on Jan. 16 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. The lawsuit alleges that Zillow's practices violate both state and federal antitrust laws, and seeks class status for all U.S. residents "who are or who were enrolled in Zillow Group's Premier, Preferred, or Flex Agent programs."

'Impossible to do business' without Zillow: Dupuis alleges that because of Zillow's "monopoly power," real estate agents find it "impossible to do business without working with Zillow to at least some degree." As a result, she and her team felt compelled to work with the company and entered an agreement to become a Preferred Agent — what Zillow describes as "the next evolution of the Flex program," its invitation-only referral program for agents. 

Premier, Preferred programs incentivize ZHL referrals: The complaint claims that while Zillow tells both Premier and Preferred agents they are not required to refer clients to Zillow Home Loans (ZHL), "the reality is different," because the company tracks those referrals through its Follow Up Boss system. 

An agent's rating in Follow Up Boss (FUB) — a popular CRM Zillow acquired in 2023 — is tied to the number of ZHL pre-approvals they can secure, according to the lawsuit: "The higher an agent's rating, the more connections Zillow sends their way; conversely the lowest rating agents risk getting cut from the program. In other words, a Premier agent who fails to direct their clients to ZHL will see their business slow to a trickle," according to the filing.

The lawsuit alleges this is an "illegal tying arrangement," adding that Zillow is using its power to "extract outsized commissions and steer agents and consumers alike to inferior financial products."

Real Estate News has reached out to Zillow for comment on this case.

Preferred Agent fees: The Dupuis lawsuit also goes into detail about how the Preferred Agent program works. While Premier Agents pay an upfront fee for leads, those in the Preferred program pay Zillow a percentage of their commission as a referral fee. 

Fees vary based on a home's sale price and metro area, but they run as high as 40% of the agent's commission on the sale. That is well above the common referral rate of 25%, according to the lawsuit. "Although the cost is substantial … the referrals are an essential source of business" for many agents, the complaint states.

'Increased pressure' to secure ZHL referrals: The Dupuis Team, which joined the Preferred Agent program in 2022 after eight years as a Premier Agent, noticed a significant change around May 2025 "when Zillow announced its expansion of its 'enhanced markets' program" for certain markets, including the greater Seattle area. 

Dupuis was also informed in May that she had to sign up for Follow Up Boss by Sept. 1 or be kicked out of the Preferred program, according to an email included in the filing.

"Not long after, Ms. Dupuis experienced increased pressure to steer clients to ZHL," according to the complaint, but she and her team "refused" to do so. As a consequence, the filing states, "Ms. Dupuis could see in FUB that Zillow was penalizing her team for low ZHL pre-approval rates." The team also had its Zillow Showcase account terminated in December 2025.

The plaintiffs seek relief through actual damages, treble damages, costs, attorney fees and injunctive relief.

Related cases: The allegations in this latest case are similar to those in Taylor and Armstrong, lawsuits filed in the fall and merged in December. Those cases, brought by consumers, claim buyers are steered to ZHL in violation of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA).