Zillow Crashing Down

Zillow just announced they will halt their iBuyer program to focus on finishing renovating the homes they currently own & have under contract. They’re also letting go of almost 45% of their employees. The iBuyer model has grown enormously, in Metro Atlanta almost 7% of all homes sold are bought by iBuyer companies like Zillow Offers, Offerpad and Open Door. I’ve had limited experience in working with them, but a few months ago I noticed they were (and some still are) buying extremely aggressively especially in lower priced neighborhoods. More often than not, they are losing money on these homes. Why would they do this you ask? To gain more market share. Most people see the platform of home buying becoming totally different in a few years and they’re right, it already is. It makes sense for some who value convenience over top dollar to sell to an iBuyer, but now I’m noticing that iBuyers like Zillow, are pivoting their approach to become more conservative.
These home buying giants are here to stay though, many Realtors are afraid of getting completely taken out of business by them. My hot take is, for the most part, it is good for the consumer and industry. My guess is they will help weed out most agents, forcing them to bring more value to clients. I’m still extremely confident I can not only net my clients much more money, but keep the process easy almost every time. I always present every option as my responsibility to my clients whether I make a commission or not. Buying and selling homes is a relationship business, no matter how far technology advances, I believe people will seek face to face representation and guidance. There is no computer software that can do what I do!