Realogy is getting into the business of all-cash offers for sellers who want to shed their properties quickly, putting it in direct competition with Zillow’s Instant Offers and venture-backed Opendoor.
The real estate holding company announced that one of its subsidiaries, NRT, will launch an all-cash program for its Coldwell Banker branded companies, in Atlanta and Dallas starting next month, Inman reported. NRT will start offering the program in Tampa later this year, and Realogy could eventually expand the program to its other brands, which include Sotheby’s International Realty, Century 21, Corcoran Group and Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate.
Realogy’s “cataLIST Cash Offer” program is funded by Home Partners of America, which is backed by firms such as BlackRock and KKR. After the seller provides basic information about a property, cataLIST will come back with a cash offer usually within one business day. The seller has five days to consider the offer.
In the case of an accepted offer, cataLIST will charge a convenience fee.
Coldwell joins other so-called “iBuyer” companies, like OpenDoor and Zillow’s Instant Offers program, which provide similar all-cash offers. Coldwell agents will be actively involved in the process, a spokesperson for Home Partners of America told Inman.
“With many other cash-offer models, consumers lose that value and expert opinion that a real estate agent brings to the table,” the spokesperson said. “We see ourselves as different from those typical iBuyer models.” [Inman] — Kathryn Brenzel