Eric Wu Is Leaving Opendoor

Eric Wu is officially out of Opendoor.

The iBuyer’s founder and former chief executive is leaving the company to pursue other startup opportunities, as first reported by Inman. Opendoor filed the leadership shakeup with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday.

“After ten years, I am called to get back to my startup roots and create and build again,” Wu said in the statement.

Starting Jan. 1, Wu will no longer serve on the board or as the president of Marketplace. Wu stepped down from his role as CEO a year ago to oversee Exclusives, a product that connects buyers and sellers directly and doesn’t require Opendoor to purchase any homes.

Wu will continue to be an advisor to the San Francisco-based firm. Opendoor vice president and general manager Merav Bloch will take over Wu’s position as head of the Exclusives marketplace.

At the time of Wu’s move, the iBuyer was bleeding cash, and its share prices tanked amid a slowing housing market. In response, the company issued two rounds of layoffs, slashing 18 percent of employees in November 2022 and 22 percent in April.

The iBuyer tapped Carrie Wheeler, who had been serving as Opendoor’s CFO since 2020, to replace Wu at the helm last December.

Despite the losses, Opendoor proved more resilient than other companies’ attempts to gain traction in the iBuying space. Zillow and Redfin shut down their iBuying segments between 2021 and 2022.

Opendoor has since rebounded from last year’s financial woes. After losing over $100 million in the first quarter of 2023, the company posted a $23 million profit in the second quarter. The iBuyer pushed itself into the black by buying back some of its debt.

Though it reported more losses in the third quarter, executives at the firm projected optimism in the wake of a host of antitrust lawsuits plaguing brokerages across the nation. Company leadership also said they expect to be cash-flow positive in 2024.