So what does it mean for me if I buy a home straight from Zillow? Better price?
I'm betting you won't have to pay a commission to an agent
Zillow surprises investors by buying up homes
11–20 of 93 posts
Re: Zillow surprises investors by buying up homes
#12Re: Zillow surprises investors by buying up homes
#13I get the feeling a company like this would only make this kind of leap because they have the data to show it will pay off. I.e. they can formulate algorithms to make the best purchases and the most profit. I foresee big gains from this
It’s rarely a good idea to compete against your customers
Why? BlackRock offers solutions to other asset management firms to make investment decisions. They use the same solution in their asset management division.
Re: Zillow surprises investors by buying up homes
#14I get the feeling a company like this would only make this kind of leap because they have the data to show it will pay off. I.e. they can formulate algorithms to make the best purchases and the most profit. I foresee big gains from this
It’s rarely a good idea to compete against your customers
In this case it seems the customers are unlikely to revolt. Most won't even notice, right?
Re: Zillow surprises investors by buying up homes
#15So what does it mean for me if I buy a home straight from Zillow? Better price?
Likely you'd get the same deal as any other real estate developer in the flipping business would give you. They'd be looking for undervalued properties that can be fixed up and resold at a profit. Which means they're on the open market and you're bidding against other purchasers, like normal.
Re: Zillow surprises investors by buying up homes
#16I get the feeling a company like this would only make this kind of leap because they have the data to show it will pay off. I.e. they can formulate algorithms to make the best purchases and the most profit. I foresee big gains from this
It’s rarely a good idea to compete against your customers
Every big company does this in some way. The only smart move in business is to be where the money is.
Re: Zillow surprises investors by buying up homes
#17I get the feeling a company like this would only make this kind of leap because they have the data to show it will pay off. I.e. they can formulate algorithms to make the best purchases and the most profit. I foresee big gains from this
It’s rarely a good idea to compete against your customers
Great point. For now, it is limited to AZ and NV and for wholesale purchases only. But it seems like a conflict of interest that's hard to prove isn't being abused.
Re: Zillow surprises investors by buying up homes
#18I get the feeling a company like this would only make this kind of leap because they have the data to show it will pay off. I.e. they can formulate algorithms to make the best purchases and the most profit. I foresee big gains from this
This was my thinking as well, they can decide what they want to buy based on their data on prior listings and closing prices. It is an interesting advantage.
Re: Zillow surprises investors by buying up homes
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
It’s rarely a good idea to compete against your customers
Why? BlackRock offers solutions to other asset management firms to make investment decisions. They use the same solution in their asset management division.
Isn't there a firewall between the units?
Re: Zillow surprises investors by buying up homes
#20So what does it mean for me if I buy a home straight from Zillow? Better price?
Likely you'd get the same deal as any other real estate developer in the flipping business would give you. They'd be looking for undervalued properties that can be fixed up and resold at a profit. Which means they're on the open market and you're bidding against other purchasers, like normal.
I know nothing about the housing market but to me it seems like this could be a pretty good move from zillow. They could theoretically use data on their millions of houses to find absurdly good deals and only snap those up.