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Federal Trade Commission

Washington just banned noncompete agreements. Will other states follow suit?

Employment, Federal Trade Commission, HWmember, Legislation, Loan Officer, Mortgage, Regulatory, Regulatory Compliance, Washington /

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson signed a bill into effect earlier this week that bans noncompete agreements across the state. The move marks a significant shift in employment law that will take effect on June 30, 2027. The measure prohibits contracts that restrict workers from joining or starting competing businesses after leaving a job. Noncompete agreements […]

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Zillow and Redfin ordered to produce documents in $100M rental syndication antitrust case

Federal Trade Commission, Glenn Kelman, HWmember, Legal, Real Estate, Redfin, Regulatory, Zillow /

Zillow and Redfin must turn over documents related to their $100 million rental syndication agreement, according to a court order issued on Thursday in the antitrust lawsuit filed by state and federal regulators.  On Thursday, Judge William Porter ruled that the defendants must comply with the document production requests issued by the Federal Trade Commission

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WSJ: DOJ leadership halted antitrust review of Compass–Anywhere deal

Anywhere, Brokerage, Compass, Department of Justice, Elizabeth Warren, Federal Trade Commission, HWmember, Real Estate, Regulatory, Robert Reffkin /

News that the proposed merger between Compass and Anywhere would close this week came as a surprise to many in the industry, especially those who were anticipating a robust antitrust review of the deal. Several news outlets are reporting that antitrust regulators were blocked from a deeper investigation into the deal by officials higher up in

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Compass-Anywhere deal may exceed DOJ market-share limits in some cities

Anywhere, Brokerage, Compass, Department of Justice, Elizabeth Warren, Federal Trade Commission, HWmember, Mergers and Acquisitions, Real Estate, Regulatory, Robert Reffkin /

Compass’s proposed acquisition of Anywhere Real Estate may give the firm some eyebrow-raising market share levels in certain markets across the country, according to analysis of RealTrends Verified data published by The Capitol Forum earlier this week. This includes more than 80% market share in both Newport Beach, California and Manhattan. According to the publication’s

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FTC issues warnings to rental software firms on price transparency

Federal Trade Commission, HWmember, Legal, Real Estate, RealPage, Regulatory, Rent Prices, Rental Properties /

A week after settling a lawsuit with rental property management company Greystar, it appears the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) involvement in the rental property management space is not waning.  On Tuesday, the government regulator announced that it had sent letters to 13 property management software providers nationwide warning them that they may be violating the

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Why the FTC is targeting Zillow and Redfin’s rental deal

Federal Trade Commission, HWmember, Legal, Real Estate, Redfin, Regulatory, Rental Properties, Trump administration, Zillow /

Despite rumors earlier this year that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was investigating Zillow and Redfin over their $100 million rental syndication deal, the announcement that the FTC was suing the two companies still carried an element of surprise. “This shows that the Federal government is still looking hard at the realty space,” Chuck Cain,

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5 states sue Zillow, Redfin over $100M agreement after FTC suit

Arizona, Connecticut, Federal Trade Commission, HWmember, Legal, New York, Real Estate, Redfin, Regulatory, Virginia, Washington, Zillow /

Zillow and Redfin are facing yet another lawsuit related to their multifamily rental syndication deal. On Wednesday, attorneys general in Virginia, Arizona, New York, Connecticut and Washington filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, that makes claims identical to those alleged by the the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in its lawsuit filed

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FTC lawsuit claims Zillow–Redfin rental tie-up crushes competition

Federal Trade Commission, HWmember, Legal, MLS/Associations, Real Estate, Redfin, Zillow /

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is suing Zillow and Redfin over their rental syndication agreement.  In a complaint filed on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, the FTC claims that the two firms conspired to eliminate competition in the rental listing space and that their syndication agreement — under which Zillow paid Redfin

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FTC revisits noncompete rules after Biden-era ban blocked

Federal Trade Commission, HWmember, LendingLife, Mortgage, Regulatory, Regulatory Compliance, Trump administration /

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Thursday issued a public request for information on noncompete agreements as it seeks to identify practices it considers “unfair” and “anticompetitive,” a topic that has drawn attention across the mortgage and real estate industries.  Under the Trump administration, the FTC said it will take a case-by-case approach rather than

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