Zillow Offers launched Monday in Cincinnati, the 24th market for the Seattle-based real estate tech company’s direct-to-consumer homebuying and selling platform. It’s the company’s first iBuyer presence in the state of Ohio and comes in a market where it already has a large employee-base thanks to the previous acquisition of dotloop, which is based in Cincinnati.
Jeremy Wacksman | Photo credit: Zillow
“Sellers across the country have shown that they’re looking for more certainty, control and convenience during one of the most stressful experiences they’ll go through,” Zillow President Jeremy Wacksman, said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to introduce this type of service to the greater Cincinnati area and help sellers find a new, simpler way to sell their home and move on to the next chapter of their lives.”
Through the platform, a buyer requests an offer from Zillow. If the buyer accepts Zillow’s offer, the company directly buys the home, prepares it for showings with some light sprucing up and then quickly re-lists it for sale.
Since launching the platform in Phoenix, in April 2019, Zillow has rapidly expanded across the country. It has plans to bring Zillow Offers to Jacksonville, Florida and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma next. The company has also bolstered its proprietary offerings around the platform, by launching a mortgage division and launching closing services in several markets, to offer an end-to-end transaction.
As Zillow’s homebuying and selling platform continues to scale, the company’s revenue from the segment is exploding, while losses continue to widen.
Revenue specifically from the Homes segment — which includes the Zillow Offers iBuying program — was $603.2 million, an increase of 57 percent year-over-year, in the fourth quarter of 2019. In the fourth quarter, Zillow sold 1,902 homes and purchased 1,787 homes, ending the quarter with 2,707 homes in inventory.
Zillow will work with a local brokerage to represent it on both sides of the transaction, as it has done in each market in which it operates. Zillow has previously declined to disclose the commission it pays agents.
