Avito & Maralin: victory or defeat in real estate fields

On June 17, 2025, the Maralin luxury real estate agency held another trial with Avito. The platform refuses to unblock our 15-year—old account, continuing to insist that we are "malicious violators."

During this time, we have had the opportunity to study in detail the complaints they refer to. It is good that such an opportunity arose at all, because last year, when we tried to enter into a dialogue, we were completely ignored. It was not possible to get a response from the support service — in fact, it does not exist. Only standard and sometimes vague answers.

Most of the complaints are inflated or left by unhappy callers. For example, there are 5, 7, or even 10 complaints about existing facilities in a row. Obviously, someone just wants to remove the ad from the ad. The link is sent to certain groups or several agents, and they collectively click on the "Complain" button. This is clearly visible in the printouts.: 10 complaints per object in 2-5 minutes.

Among the complaints there are the following: "we didn't get through." But this is interesting. First, a person may be at the dentist, in an underground parking lot, or outside the reception area. Secondly, the caller is not dialing our personal number, but a replacement number provided by Avito. How can we ensure that it wasn't just someone's prank? We are being blocked based on a complaint from a caller who did not get through... to a replacement number.

Besides, we paid for every ad, and it's not profitable for us to miss calls. Therefore, we have a rule: call back if the call was missed. On the iPhone, such missed calls are highlighted in red. Maybe the problem is with the replacement number itself?

If we talk about placement, why do we calmly publish the same objects, at the same prices, with the same photos on other sites — and no one bans us? We work there as partners, not as violators.

And another question: why hasn't anyone else been blocked in a year? If this was a "purge" of agencies posting fakes, why are these agencies still being advertised and even have the status of a "Reliable Partner"? There are companies where 80% of the objects are unrealistic, purely for collecting leads.

There was a case when an agent placed a fake one under our real object — in a neighboring house, with left-hand photos and an undervalued price. And everything worked fine, the ads were on. The object was not blocked.

This suggests that Avito is promoting its "Comfort Deal" service and removing unnecessary competitors. There are already 8 companies in Rostov-on-Don alone that work as Avito partners.

Do you know how it happens? The owner puts the object up for advertising. Avito employees (or the automatic system) send the application to the partner. The owner is offered to remove the ad from the common site, Avito takes over advertising and promotion. The client pays 2.5% to the partner, and then the money is divided in certain proportions. Isn't this monopolization? On the basis of the bulletin board, conditions are created in which it is uncomfortable for professional participants in the real estate market to work. Every trial reveals something new to me. After the appeal on June 17, 2025, the case finally got off the ground. Now we know how to proceed, and we will try to explain that we need to cooperate in the market, not trip each other up.

I have not given 25 years to the real estate market in vain: I speak at congresses, talk about professional standards, I and my company are appreciated and rewarded. We have a glossy magazine about luxury real estate, and I am a member of the International Mortgage and Real Estate Academy. Recently, my contribution to the development of the industry was recognized with the S.Y. Witte Award, which I received at the All-Russian Housing Congress in Sochi.

I urge Avito to return to a real partnership: assign a manager to the account and move together, not apart. In my example, the platform is ruining its reputation in the real estate community. You need to be able to professionally get out of such situations.