Realtor.com wades into iBuying at last

Sellers can use Realtor.com to request an offer

From left: Eric Wu and David Masters (Credit: Opendoor via CNBC, LinkedIn, and iStock)
From left: Eric Wu and David Masters (Credit: Opendoor via CNBC, LinkedIn, and iStock)

Even as rivals rushed into iBuying, Realtor.com resisted the home-buying craze. Until now.

The listings portal said Thursday that it is launching a seller’s marketplace, where sellers can request offers from Opendoor, EasyKnock, HomeGo and WeBuyHouses.com instead of listing directly on the open market.

While Realtor.com, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., won’t be buying and selling homes itself, it aims to be a “one-stop shop” for sellers, David Master, director of product management, said in a statement.

In a new deal with Opendoor, sellers who visit Realtor.com can accept offers and complete all-digital transactions, Inman reported. The partnership with Realtor.com is Opendoor’s second, following a deal with Redfin last year. Prospective sellers can use Redfin’s site to request offers from Opendoor or list with a Redfin agent.

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Until now, Realtor.com has avoided home-buying, even as its chief rival, Zillow, has invested heavily in the sector.

In March, all of the major iBuyers – Zillow, Opendoor, Redfin, Realogy and Offerpad – suspended home-buying due to uncertainty around coronavirus. They have since resumed, and generally predict that sellers will appreciate the certainty around an instant, all-cash offer during the pandemic. [Inman]E.B. Solomont

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