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Democratic, Independent senators express concerns

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Say DOJ and FTC should consider effects on homebuyers

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Deal scheduled for shareholder vote Wednesday

By Jody Godoy

June 4 (Reuters) - A group of U.S. Senators have

demanded that federal antitrust enforcers explain why they did

not seek to block Rocket Companies' ( RKT ) $1.75 billion

acquisition of real estate listing platform Redfin,

saying the deal could raise costs for homebuyers.

U.S. senators including Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker,

the top Democrats on the Senate banking and antitrust

committees, wrote to the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal

Trade Commission on Wednesday asking why they had not challenged

the merger announced in March.

Redfin shareholders are scheduled to vote on whether to

approve the deal on Wednesday.

Rocket's announcement that it plans to acquire mortgage

servicer Mr. Cooper ( COOP ) for $9.4 billion only raises

further concerns about consolidation in the homebuying industry,

said the group, which included Senator Bernie Sanders of

Vermont, an Independent, and Democratic Senators Mazie Hirono of

Hawaii and Tina Smith of Minnesota.

"These deals would combine the second-largest mortgage

originator, the largest mortgage servicer, and the

third-most-visited real estate brokerage website in the United

States, into a massive, vertically integrated conglomerate that

may reduce choice and raise prices for American families in the

housing market," the lawmakers said.

A spokesperson for Rocket did not immediately respond to a

request for comment.

DOJ antitrust division head Gail Slater and FTC Chairman

Andrew Ferguson have said they will not get in the way of lawful

mergers, but said they will scrutinize deals for anticompetitive

effects that hit consumers or workers, in an approach Slater

dubbed "America First antitrust."

The Redfin acquisition could allow Rocket to steer

homebuyers using Redfin towards its real estate agents and

mortgage offerings, and leverage data about user behavior to

raise mortgage rates, the senators said.

Average home prices are more than 50% above where they were

in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, and expected to continue

rising this year. The rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages was

6.89% last week, reflecting pressure on the U.S. bond market

from Congress' consideration of a massive tax and spending bill.