Booker, Warren Urge FTC to Investigate Anticompetitive, Deceptive Practices in Online Home-Buying Marketplace

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, sent a letter to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Andrew Ferguson urging the agency to investigate anticompetitive and deceptive practices by dominant online real estate platforms that are driving up costs for homebuyers and deepening the nation’s housing affordability crisis. “We urge you to now investigate anticompetitive and deceptive practices in the home-buying market, using every enforcement tool available to restore competition to the entire online real estate marketplace,” wrote the Senators. “Today, too many people are locked out of the American dream of homeownership.” The letter follows an August 24, 2026, stipulated order in which the FTC required Redfin to reenter the online rental market after Zillow paid the company to shut down its internet rental listing service. Booker called that settlement a step forward for renters and urged the Commission to apply the same scrutiny to the home-buying market, using every enforcement tool available to restore competition across the online real estate marketplace. The letter highlights worsening affordability nationwide. The national median home price has reached an all-time high of approximately $434,900, with median monthly mortgage payments of $2,199, consuming nearly 25 percent of median monthly income. Stagnant wages and rising costs for utilities, healthcare, and transportation have made it increasingly difficult for families to cover everyday expenses while saving to buy a home. As a result, the median age of a first-time homebuyer has reached an all-time high of 40, up from the late 20s in the 1980s, as high rents make it increasingly difficult to save for a down payment. The Senators' letter identifies three specific practices that warrant FTC investigation: Undisclosed commission-sharing arrangements. Online listings often feature a “contact agent” button that can route prospective buyers to platform-affiliated agents who have agreed to remit a share of their commission back to the platform, without disclosing the arrangement to buyers. Steering to affiliated mortgage lenders. Platform-affiliated agents are frequently required to direct buyers to affiliated mortgage lenders that charge higher rates and impose worse loan terms, again without disclosure. Anticompetitive use of private listings. Dominant brokerage firms are increasingly marketing homes only to a select group of buyers rather than the public, artificially restricting the available housing stock to the benefit of the brokerage’s own agents and to the detriment of buyers, sellers, and competing firms. The letter cites a study finding borrowers who shop around for a mortgage saved an average of $80,000 over the life of their loan, underscoring the potential cost of captive lending arrangements. Younger and first-time homebuyers are particularly vulnerable to these practices, the letter argues, because they are navigating the largest financial transaction of their lives with incomplete information and may assume that online platforms offer a more affordable path to homeownership. This letter builds on Senator Booker’s ongoing efforts to lower housing costs for Americans and expand access to affordable housing. Last month, Senator Booker introduced the Transit-Oriented Housing Development Act, legislation that would make significant investments in affordable housing near transit hubs and create 2 million housing units nationwide. Booker was also a cosponsor of the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act , landmark legislation that became law earlier this year to expand housing supply, reduce barriers to homeownership, and lower housing costs for families. The full text of the letter is available here.