11/19/25 | Amended Complaint Filed
On Nov. 19, 2025, Hagens Berman filed an amended complaint against Zillow, further accusing the company of “deceptive” practices to steer homebuyers into using Zillow Home Loans, allegedly violating federal law. The amended filing adds real estate brokerage defendants, as well as plaintiffs from nine new states, and reveals internal information provided by current and former real estate agents and loan officers about the company’s alleged practices.
Did you buy a home through Zillow.com and use a Zillow agent to do so? Did you use Zillow Home Loans to finance the purchase? Your rights as a homebuyer may have been violated. Fill out the form for more information »
WHAT’S THE ISSUE?
Hagens Berman filed a class-action lawsuit representing homebuyers who scheduled a tour or contacted an agent through buttons on Zillow’s property listing pages, and who were represented by a Zillow-affiliated agent in the purchase of a home. Some affected homebuyers also used Zillow Home Loans to finance their purchase. Attorneys believe Zillow may have violated homebuyers’ rights and led to higher homebuying costs. The lawsuit accuses Zillow and other real estate companies of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures (RESPA) Act and breaking state consumer-protection law through “deceptive” policies and procedures that actively seek to subvert their clients’ interests.
HOW DO I KNOW IF I’M AFFECTED?
If you purchased a home using a Zillow agent since 2019, you may have been affected by practices that allegedly violate consumer protection laws. You may be impacted if you:
- Clicked the “Request a Tour” or “Contact an Agent” button on a property listing page on Zillow.com, and
- Were ultimately represented by that Zillow agent at closing in the purchase of your home.
Additionally, if you financed your home using Zillow Home Loans, you may have further rights against Zillow. Contact our team to find out more »
ABOUT ZILLOW’S ALLEGED FRAUD
The lawsuit states that Zillow’s practices and policies in the real estate industry are “not simply indifferent to the agents’ duties to protect their clients’ interests; Zillow actively schemes to subvert them.”
“Zillow’s goal is simple: to monetize every step of the home buying process—even if illegally—and to encourage, incentivize, and ultimately coerce agents into violating their fiduciary duties by disregarding their clients’ interests,” according to the lawsuit. Attorneys believe that Zillow’s tactics amount to racketeering behavior sweeping the real estate industry.
INSIDER INFORMATION FROM AGENTS & LOAN OFFICERS
Since the original lawsuit was filed, 12 confidential witnesses — current and former real estate agents and loan officers — have revealed internal information about Zillow’s alleged practices.
According to attorneys, Zillow, along with other named real estate defendants, have allegedly deceived homebuyers through the following practices:
- Through its online real estate marketplace, Zillow allegedly tricks prospective homebuyers into signing up with a Zillow agent through the use of its “Request a Tour” and “Contact agent,” buttons.
- If a prospective homebuyer attends a tour with a Zillow-affiliated agent, agents have clients sign a “Touring Agreement” and promising the agent’s services are free.
- If the home’s sale closes with a Zillow “Flex” agent involved, that agent must then pay Zillow up to 40% of the agent’s commission, potentially leading to an increased home-buying cost for the consumer.
- Zillow loan officers frequently misrepresent or omit important details about borrowers’ true closing costs, leading buyers to pay excessive costs or lose the house.
- Zillow Flex agents are allegedly incentivized to “burn and churn” through clients, at their clients’ expense.
- Zillow Home Loans (ZHL) allegedly “cherry-picks” only the most qualified borrowers, to conceal the inexperience of ZHL officers.
- According to the lawsuit, many Zillow Flex agents know virtually nothing about the real estate process, or the neighborhoods in which they are showing homes, yet these same agents are falsely promoted as a “Top Agent” on Zillow based solely on their participation in the Zillow Flex program.
- Zillow implements a requirement that Flex agents use Zillow’s “Follow-Up Boss,” which allows Zillow to eavesdrop on communications between the agent and the buyer, violating the agent’s duty of confidentiality, according to the lawsuit.
- Additionally, Zillow allegedly uses the “Follow-Up Boss” to “catch” Flex agents who may recommend other loan providers to their clients.
If you believe you’ve been impacted by potentially deceptive real estate practices, fill out the form to find out your rights.
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 $340 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 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.
