OfferPad, a home-flipping startup, has severed ties with Zillow after the online listings giant announced it would begin buying houses and reselling them — the exact service offered by OfferPad.
Offerpad was one of the first companies to partner with Zillow when it piloted the Instant Offers program last May in Las Vegas and Orlando. The program at the time allowed prospective sellers to market properties to all-cash investors, and wasn’t initially buying properties and re-listing them.
OfferPad used this platform to then give sellers a cash offer on their home within 24 hours, despite whether they were represented by an agent. If the seller accepts, OfferPad moves in to make refurbishments before relisting the property.
But earlier this month, Zillow announced it had begun buying up its own properties, with the intention of reselling them within 90 days, and that it would begin buying up homes in Phoenix.
In a statement, OfferPad said it cut ties with Zillow on April 12. “OfferPad anticipates little to no impact on the business since ending the partnership,” the company said in a statement to Inman, adding that Zillow listings contributed less than one percent to the company’s sales volume. The outlet reported that OfferPad was given no warning of Zillow’s announcement.
Agents who participate in Premier Agent, Zillow’s agent advertising program, can have sales directed to them on behalf of Zillow and other buyers. The company says it will invest between $75 million and $250 million to buy up to 1,000 homes by the end of the year as part of its expansion of the Instant Offers Program. [Inman] — David Jeans