Zillow’s Errol Samuelson Hits Back at Compass
Samuelson said Tuesday that Compass CEO Robert Reffkin was not “truthful” and took issue with the way Compass has defined a polarizing Zillow listing rule.
Zillow’s Errol Samuelson came out of the gate waving on Tuesday, saying Compass CEO Robert Reffkin “wasn’t fair to all of you.”
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Samuelson – Zillow’s Chief Industry Development Officer – made the comments while on stage at Inman Connect New York. His was one of the first sessions Tuesday morning, but it took place shortly after Reffkin himself appeared on stage and discussed Compass’ lawsuit against Zillow. During his remarks, Reffkin said Zillow “offered $1.3 [billion] up to $1.6 billion to Compass if we prevented our agents from marketing through Zillow.”
But Samuelson resisted this characterization. At the urging of session moderator Brad Inman, Samuelson described a meeting he attended involving the two companies on the 40th floor of Zillow’s headquarters in Washington state. And Samuelson said we didn’t offer him a billion dollars at this meeting.
“What we discussed at that meeting were products that were currently available or currently in development at Zillow that we thought Compass could use to grow their business,” Samuelson said.
The meeting in question is actually documented in a large body of recent court filings that are part of the companies’ lawsuit. The documents include an April 2025 meeting in which “Zillow offered various terms for the potential partnership, including a variety of product offerings and benefits that Zillow predicted would result in Compass earning an additional $1.3 billion to $1.6 billion annually and doubling Compass’ market share.”
Jeremy Hoffman, Zillow’s chief financial officer, was also asked about offering Compass money during a deposition that was part of the lawsuit. According to transcripts of the deposition, Hoffman said Zillow “at a high level offered what we think is a pretty interesting set of ways to collaborate and grow our businesses together.”
Brad Inman, left, and Errol Samuelson of Zillow on stage at Inman Connect New York on Tuesday. Credit: AJ Canaria Creative Services.
In any case, Reffkin and Samuelson’s comments highlight the intensity of the rivalry between the two companies and the stakes the lawsuit entails. Compass first filed the case last June over Zillow’s Listing Access Standards. The standards prohibit listings that are publicly marketed but not made available to the local MLS and Zillow within 24 hours.
READ: REFFKIN DRIVES IDEA FOR NATIONAL MLS
But the two companies even disagreed Tuesday over the basic definition of the rule. During his session, Reffkin said the rule prohibits the “public marketing of listings that are not on Zillow.” The comment echoes others that Compass leaders have made in the past, arguing that the standards are not about private listings, but actually about Zillow’s access to those listings.
However, Samuelson offered a different take on Tuesday, saying the portal’s rule “doesn’t say you have to put it on Zillow; it says you have to put it on the MLS.”
“That means Realtor.com gets it, Homes.com gets it, Redfin gets it,” he said.
Samuelson also criticized the concept of private listings in general, saying the US has a unique open real estate system that is superior to those in other countries. And he floated the term “hidden listings” as a possible alternative to the more common “private listings” terminology the industry has used in recent years.
“If you let a major broker hide the listings in a dark pool that can only be accessed by their agents,” Samuelson said, “you will see other major brokers doing the same very quickly.”
While competing comments between Compass and Zillow executives dominated hallway conversations at Connect on Tuesday, Samuelson’s session also touched on a host of other topics, including artificial intelligence. He explained that products like chatbots are valuable tools right now, but real estate may soon see more “agentic” AI. This means that AI will not only answer questions, but also proactively complete tasks.
As an example, Samuelson described a date night where an AI tool not only tells someone what time a movie is playing, but also buys tickets, books a dinner reservation and calls an Uber.
“So now it becomes an extension of you,” he said.
In real estate, that technology could potentially schedule a home tour, fill out forms or even help determine a listing price.
“We don’t see a lot of agent AI in real estate right now,” Samuelson said, “but give it six months.”
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