Zillow to begin buying, selling homes directly

The real estate website has announced that it will participate directly in the market

By Ryan Smith

12 Apr 2018

Zillow has announced plans to begin buying and selling homes directly in two different test markets.

Zillow announced Thursday that it would expand its Zillow Instant Offers program to Phoenix this month. Under that program, launched in the test markets of Orlando and Las Vegas last year, people looking to sell their homes in the program test markets could get cash offers from investors.

But with the expansion of the program, Zillow said it planned “to participate in the marketplace, buying and selling homes with Premier Agent partners in the Phoenix and Las Vegas markets.”

Zillow said that since launching the Instant Offers program, it has found that the majority of sellers who requested an instant offer ended up selling their home with an agent, “making Instant Offers an excellent source of seller leads for Premier Agents and brokerage partners.” But now Zillow isn’t just matching sellers with interested investors – it intends to buy and sell homes itself.

“Beginning this spring, home sellers in the Phoenix and Las Vegas real estate markets will be able to compare an agent’s comparative market analysis (CMS) to offers from Zillow or other investors,” the company said in a statement. “When Zillow buys a home, it will make necessary repairs and updates and list the home as quickly as possible. A local agent will represent Zillow in the purchase and sale of each home, enabling agents to earn commissions.”