MRED cuts off listing feeds to Zillow 

Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) made good on threats to Zillow Group on Wednesday, and shortly after 9 a.m. CT announced it had suspended its data listing feed to the country's largest home search portal.

MRED: A 'duty' to enforce the rules

MRED framed Zillow's recent moves as an act of defiance by a company that, seemingly due to its own arrogance, demanded "the right" to exclude select listings "it disfavors," based on the portal's listing access standards.

"Zillow has effectively decided not to display 99.98% of MRED's listings on its platforms because it, in its own judgment, disagrees with the lawful marketing strategy associated with the remaining 0.02% of listings," a press release published by MRED said.

The MLS also pointed to nine listing violations Zillow had made — which were in states outside of Illinois, the portal noted in legal filings after Compass and MRED partnered in April — that Zillow could have easily corrected to be within MRED's requirements, but instead opted to forgo access to 43,000 listings in penalty, rather than bow to MRED.

MRED, which services greater Chicagoland, had threatened to cut off the portal's data feed in the market by 12 a.m. CT on Wednesday as part of an ongoing feud between the two organizations. As of the early hours on Wednesday morning, new listings from the MLS had appeared on Zillow, according to screenshots posted to the popular industry blog Vendor Alley. But by about 9 a.m. CT, MRED fired its shot.

MRED President and CEO Rebecca Jensen said in a statement that rules enforcement was "the most important and difficult responsibility" that MLS's take on behalf of their subscribers and the marketplace. 

"Our rules apply equally to every participant, and we have a duty to educate our participants and vendors, counsel them when they are out of compliance, and require that breaches be cured," Jensen added.

The question of lingering listings

About one hour after MRED made its announcement, listings from the MLS's feed were still live on Zillow, but it's not clear what will happen to those listings now.

If agents update their listings in MRED, the updates will not be sent to Zillow — leading to potential inaccuracies in listings already published on the site. 

In an emailed statement, Jensen said that "continued display of MRED's listing data is in violation of Zillow's license agreement and federal copyright law," suggesting that legal action could be possible.

MRED also assured the public that its listings would continue to be distributed "across thousands of consumer-facing websites," despite the suspension from Zillow.

The MLS noted that Zillow's licensees would also be able to continue to access MRED services in order to contribute listings and facilitate transactions. Zillow-owned products, including ShowingTime and dotloop, have not been impacted by the suspension.

A dispute more than a year in the making

The trouble between MRED and Zillow began as far back as last spring when Zillow announced new listing access standards prohibiting listings that had previously been selectively marketed, such as those first listed as "exclusives" via Compass' 3-phased marketing strategy.

Disagreeing with these standards, which effectively ban most listings by mega-brokerage Compass, Compass International Holdings Chairman and CEO Robert Reffkin last fall implored several MLSs where Compass has a large presence "to terminate Zillow's listing feeds," according to a legal filing in a case Zillow has levied against MRED and Compass.

A few weeks later, MRED's Jensen threatened to terminate Zillow's access to the MLS's listing feeds, and Zillow confirmed in November 2025 that is was not enforcing its listing standards in MRED's coverage area due to "the unique situation."

But in May 2026, Jensen sent emails to Zillow saying MRED — which was now open to agents outside the Chicago area — would revoke the portal's access "if Zillow did not display certain Compass listings nationwide." 

Earlier this month, Zillow sued MRED and Compass, alleging the companies were colluding to hide listings from consumers. Most recently, Zillow filed a preliminary injunction to prevent MRED's potential move to suspend its data feed access, while reaching out to Chicago-area agents and brokers directly to provide them with a listing feed alternative.

Zillow: MRED favoring 'one megabrokerage's profits'

In a statement, Zillow said Chicago-area consumers were being hindered in their efforts to achieve the American Dream "because their local MLS decided one megabrokerage's profits mattered more."

"The people paying the price today are real," a Zillow spokesperson said. "Sellers who listed their homes expecting to reach every buyer on Zillow. Buyers who just want to see every home available to them. Thousands of independent agents who had no voice in this decision and nothing to gain from it. MRED sacrificed them all to protect the hidden listing scheme of the largest brokerage in the country."

The portal also published a "fact check" on Wednesday that purports to show "what's actually true" about MRED's claims in the public feud. In the blog post, Zillow sought to poke holes in some of MRED's bolder assertions and added additional context for the real estate community and public at large. 

Zillow ended the post by alleging that although MRED claims its goal is "transparency, fairness, and protecting the value of MLS data," this is no longer true for the Chicago-based MLS. 

"That should be true," the blog post stated. "It used to be, but it isn't anymore."

Compass: Sellers, not portals, should be in control

When asked about MRED's move to pause listing data feed access to Zillow, the brokerage leaned into its homeseller choice mantra.

"We believe homeowners, not portals, should determine how their homes are marketed," a Compass International Holdings spokesperson said, adding that sellers deserve flexibility and transparency, alongside the guidance of a real estate professional.

The company also lauded Chicago as long being a model for "an open, competitive marketplace" and praised MRED "for enforcing policies that protect both consumer choice and the fiduciary obligations agents owe their clients," the spokesperson said.

Note: This story has been updated with additional statements from Compass and MRED.