Real estate giants are turning families’ search for a home into another opportunity to squeeze them for profit. Hidden referral fees, steering toward costly mortgages, and homes kept off the public market can leave buyers paying more and sellers reaching fewer people.

Here’s how it works:

Clicking “Contact Agent” on a home listing can connect you to an agent who pays the platform for your business, without making that arrangement clear. You may think you are reaching the person selling the home, instead the platform is selling access to you to their preferred agent.

As Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker pointed out in a letter to the Federal Trade Commission, buyers are also steered toward affiliated mortgage lenders offering higher rates and worse terms. A corporate referral arrangement can become a financial burden a family carries for years. It doesn’t end there.

Dominant real estate brokerage firms, including Zillow and Compass, are increasingly using private listings that allow them to market the homes to a select group of buyers whose agents pay to play, instead of making them publicly accessible. This artificially restricts housing stock that is widely available to consumers and real estate agents, harming both buyers and sellers — buyers are shut out of the true market and sellers may end up with less interest and competition for their properties.

These real estate platforms and brokerages must face scrutiny over practices that put corporate profits ahead of families who need a place to live.

Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund and 18 other organizations are calling for state investigations. Attorneys general should examine deceptive referrals, potential mortgage kickbacks, restricted listings, and other practices that undermine competition and hurt families. They have the authority to act without waiting for federal officials.

Click “Start Writing” to sign and send a message to your attorney general calling for an investigation into all online real estate platforms and apps, including Zillow and Compass, for anticompetitive and deceptive practices now.