{"id":28488,"date":"2020-10-22T15:32:50","date_gmt":"2020-10-22T02:32:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/propertynoise.co.nz\/au\/?p=28488"},"modified":"2020-10-22T15:32:50","modified_gmt":"2020-10-22T02:32:50","slug":"u-s-real-estate-info-site-zillow-is-hiring-its-first-agents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/propertynoise.co.nz\/au\/u-s-real-estate-info-site-zillow-is-hiring-its-first-agents\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Real Estate info site Zillow is hiring its first agents"},"content":{"rendered":"

PHOTO: Zillow<\/strong><\/p>\n

After insisting for years that it had no plans to hire any agents, Seattle-based Zillow<\/a> has reversed course and will open a residential real estate brokerage \u2014 though on a very limited basis.<\/p>\n

Agents in the new division, called Zillow<\/a> Homes, have a narrow purview: acquiring and listing homes for the company\u2019s home-flipping division, Zillow Offers. Zillow said Wednesday the service will launch in January in Atlanta, Phoenix and Tucson, and will expand to additional markets (though not Seattle) over the course of next year.<\/p>\n

Spurred by competition from venture capital-backed Opendoor, online listings hubs Zillow and Redfin \u2014 now followed by traditional residential property giants Keller Williams and Realogy \u2014 have made huge bets on digitally brokered home flipping, also called iBuying.<\/p>\n

Since launching Zillow Offers in 2018, the company has spent hundreds of millions of dollars per quarter purchasing, renovating and reselling thousands of homes in low-cost, high-growth markets like Phoenix and Atlanta. Still, the iBuying sector accounts for only a tiny fraction, 0.5%, or roughly $8 billion, of overall\u00a0U.S.\u00a0<\/span>home sales, according to industry analyst Mike DelPrete. Zillow Offers generated $1.37 billion of that figure, with Opendoor taking the lion\u2019s share of the pie.<\/p>\n

Zillow<\/a> decided to open its own brokerage in part to streamline Zillow Offers, said Errol Samuelson, the company\u2019s chief industry development officer, in a\u00a0video<\/a>\u00a0circulated Wednesday to brokerages. Home sellers using Zillow Offers have found the company\u2019s current system of relying on local third-party real estate agents to facilitate the transaction \u201cconfusing\u201d in some instances, Samuelson said.<\/p>\n

The company also believes Zillow Home \u201cwill help the unit\u2019s economics long-term,\u201d said Zillow spokesperson Viet Shelton.<\/p>\n

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