Hagens Berman seeking plaintiffs for Compass MRED class action
Hagens Berman, the plaintiffs’ firm known for the Moehrl commission lawsuit, is actively recruiting Chicagoland homebuyers who purchased a property on or after April 24, 2026 to join a potential antitrust class action against Compass International Holdings and the regional multiple‑listing service Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED). The firm alleges that the two companies together dominate 98 percent of the Chicago listing market and use that control to inflate home prices, citing Compass’s own analysis of 70,809 transactions closed between April 2025 and March 2026 that shows homes initially listed as “Private Exclusive” or “Coming Soon” sold for 4.6 percent more than comparable homes that entered the MLS directly. The lawsuit would seek to “level the playing field” for buyers who, according to the firm, were forced to pay higher prices without access to key market data such as days‑on‑market, which is typically public and helps gauge fair value.
The core grievance centers on the alleged suppression of privately listed homes and the withholding of crucial pricing information, which the firm says prevents buyers from discerning whether a listing is overpriced. By keeping “Private Exclusive” and “Coming Soon” properties off the MLS until later stages, Compass and MRED purportedly deny consumers the ability to see how long a home has been on the market, a metric that traditionally signals price reasonableness. The firm points to Compass’s own data, noting that the 4.6 percent premium is an increase from a 2.9 percent rise reported in a February 2025 study covering 2024 transactions, and argues that while Compass frames the premium as a seller benefit, it effectively shifts the cost to buyers who bid without full market insight.
Compass declined to comment on the recruitment effort, and MRED did not immediately respond to HousingWire’s request for comment. Both companies are already embroiled in an antitrust suit filed by Zillow, which accuses them of colluding to block Zillow’s access to MRED’s listing feed, a move claimed to harm Chicago consumers. Hagens Berman’s broader litigation history in real estate includes representing Alucard Taylor in a lawsuit against Zillow over its “contact agent” button, a case dismissed in July but later amended. The firm’s current push reflects a pattern of using class actions to challenge perceived monopolistic practices in the housing market, aiming to recover alleged overcharges for a large base of homebuyers across the Chicagoland region.
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