UPDATED: Sept. 11, 10:14 a.m.: Zillow Group has settled on Atlanta as the next market for its homebuying program.
The Seattle-based listings giant will now be able to buy homes directly, prepare them for showings and list them for resale in the Georgia capital, according to the company. The program launched this spring in Phoenix and Las Vegas, and is expected to expand to Denver this fall.
The program, known as Zillow Offers, allows homeowners looking to sell their houses to request a cash offer from Zillow to buy the property. If they accept the offer, the homeowner selects the closing date, and Zillow does a complimentary home inspection to finalize the deal.
The move comes as In-House Realty starts a home listings site to rival Zillow, according to Inman. The company will now be called “Rocket Homes,” and aims to create an end-to-end home buying platform, Inman reported.
Zillow is partnering with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties and Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers for its Atlanta expansion. The company will also work with local Premier Agents— its agent advertising program — to broker deals for it and other buyers.
The company pays a commission to agents for each home that it buys and sells.
The Real Deal interviewed brokers at small- and medium-sized firms soon after Zillow announced it would be getting into the home buying business, and several viewed the move as a good way for sales listings to get more exposure.
The move has faced resistance from agents. When Zillow piloted its Offers program in Las Vegas and Orlando in May 2017, as many as 32,000 agents throughout the country signed a petition against it and asked the National Association of Realtors to intervene.