T
he battle for dominance in the real estate search portal market has escalated from civil competition to full-scale attacks between CoStar and Move, with Homes.com entering the fray. Zillow and other players have largely stayed out of the conflict. The rivalry turned ugly when CoStar CEO Andy Florance accused Realtor.com CEO Damian Eales of misrepresenting web traffic numbers, prompting a war of words and litigation.

    The dispute began in April when Florance pushed back against Eales' comments that CoStar was misrepresenting Homes.com's web traffic by including data from multiple URLs. Eales had suggested that if CoStar's logic were applied, Realtor.com could claim an audience larger than the entire US population. The exchange marked a turning point in the portal wars, with both CEOs making brazen claims about their competitors and fighting to defend their own web traffic stats.

    The conflict escalated into the courtroom when Move filed a lawsuit against CoStar and a former Realtor.com editor in July, alleging that the employee had accessed sensitive information and trade secrets after joining Homes.com. Florance fired back, calling the suit a "PR stunt" and accusing Eales of using the former employee as a pawn.

    The litigation has continued, with each side notching small wins, but it's unclear who will emerge victorious or if a truce will be reached. Meanwhile, Zillow and Redfin have remained out of the fray, content to maintain their positions in the market.