Did you buy a home in Chicagoland on or after April 24, 2026? You may have overpaid due to an alleged monopoly in the real estate listing market. Chicago area homebuyers have rights. Contact us to learn more »
WHAT’S THE ISSUE?
Hagens Berman’s antitrust attorneys are investigating class-action claims on behalf of Chicagoland homebuyers who may have overpaid for their homes because of an alleged monopoly over the local real estate listing market.
Attorneys believe that Compass and Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) together hold a 98% share of the real estate listing market in Chicago, and that they use that control in ways that inflate what buyers pay. The alleged effect is twofold. Most buyers are shut out of privately listed homes entirely, never learning those properties are for sale. And for the properties that do eventually transition to the open market, buyers allegedly arrive without the information that helps set a fair selling price, including how long a home has actually been on the market, which is normally a public data point.
Without days-on-market data, buyers can’t tell an overpriced listing from a fairly priced one. Attorneys allege that Chicago area homebuyers have been paying the difference.
HOW DO I KNOW IF I’M AFFECTED?
If you purchased a home at any point on or after April 24, 2026 in the Chicago metropolitan area, you may have overpaid for your property. Contact our team to learn more »
COMPASS’S OWN NUMBERS
Compass analyzed 70,809 of its own closed residential transactions from April 2025 through March 2026, across all of its markets. It found that homes which began as a "Private Exclusive" or "Coming Soon" before reaching the MLS sold for 4.6% more than comparable homes that went straight to the MLS. That premium has risen sharply: in Compass’s first such study, released in February 2025 and covering 2024 data, the company claimed a 2.9% premium.
Compass frames these figures as a benefit for sellers. Attorneys allege they describe a cost borne by buyers, who bid on homes priced above what the open market would have set, with no way of knowing it.
WHAT ARE MY RIGHTS AS A HOMEBUYER?
Buying a home is the largest transaction most people will ever make, and it depends on information the buyer has no independent way to obtain. Attorneys are investigating whether Compass and MRED have used their control over Chicagoland’s listing market to withhold that information and restrict which homes buyers can even compete for, in violation of antitrust laws that exist to keep markets open and prices competitive. This investigation seeks to recover the amounts Chicagoland homebuyers allegedly overpaid.
HOW CAN A CLASS ACTION HELP HOMEBUYERS?
A class-action lawsuit seeks to level the playing field, bringing strength to collective action to change unlawful practices. No individual homebuyer can take on the companies that control a region’s entire listing market. Together, buyers can. These cases are a time-tested method of holding powerful companies accountable and recovering money for the people who were overcharged.
TOP LAW FIRM IN THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY
Hagens Berman is one of the nation’s most successful law firms representing consumers and has secured total settlements valued at more than $345 billion for classes and clients against some of the world’s most powerful corporations. The firm recently reached settlements exceeding $1 billion in a class action filed against 29 real estate broker franchises accused of illegally inflating home sale commissions. If you have a claim, it will be handled by attorneys with deep experience in antitrust and consumer protection law and in the real estate industry.
NO COST TO YOU
In no case will any class member ever be asked to pay any out-of-pocket sum. In the event Hagens Berman or any other firm obtains a settlement that provides benefits to class members, the court will decide a reasonable fee to be awarded to the class’s legal team.
