Hidden Zillow listings created fake supply shock, raising NYC rents, lawsuit says

This week, two New York City renters filed a class action complaint alleging that a brokerage business called Compass—which has been boycotting posting listings on free digital platforms like Zillow —has now delisted so many rental units that it has created a fake supply shock that is artificially raising rents.

According to plaintiffs, Peter Castaneda and Haley Gelfand, Compass has bought so many brokerage firms over the past decade-plus that it maintains a monopoly, controlling “over 80 percent of the rental unit listings available for renters in Manhattan based on 2025 data.” With that monopoly, Compass can “literally dictate pricing for as much as 80 percent of Manhattan’s rental units,” renters argued.

And now, Compass is allegedly trying to manipulate prices on other platforms, as well.

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