Buying a home in America has worked the same way for so long that most of us treat the rules like physics. The seller lists. Zillow shows up with photos within hours. Days-on-market starts ticking.

Real estate giants are duking it out over over a new home-listings policy from the National Association of Realtors. Millions of Americans use online listing services to look for their dream home. But ...

Zillow just sued Compass and a Chicago MLS operator over private listing tactics. Internal documents show off-market deals ...