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Should We Be Afraid of iBuyers like Zillow?
Should we be afraid of iBuyers like Zillow? Have you have heard the crazy news about Zillow Offers, which is owned and operated by Zillow. The popular real estate website, that makes near-instant cash offers on homes – a practice known as iBuying? Zillow basically buys the house online directly from the seller, slaps on paint, makes a few repairs, and then turns around and sells it. Many of us in real estate and mortgage lending was starting to worry this could create an unfair market advantage. Zillow could buy multiple homes in a particular area and then manipulate or artificially inflate home prices. To be fair, Zillow and Redfin have issued statements denying this.
The experiment has failed as Zillow, the country’s 2nd largest iBuyer in the country, has shut down its home-buying operations. At the end of the 3rd quarter, Zillow reported it had lost $420 million and had to lay off 25% of its workforce, about 2000 people, right before the holidays. Effectively ending their attempt at flipping homes using their famed technology coined “Zestimate,” aka the estimate of a home’s market value.
What is the point of all this, and why is it so important to me? Selling and buying real estate is a relationship business. Having been in mortgage lender for almost 20 years now, it always comes back to relationships. Home selling should not be an automated process in my opinion. We need to remember this is someone’s most significant asset in most cases, and they should be working with a local, professional, reputable realtor, not a Zillow robot.
Zillow went against this model, and it failed. I have been telling clients and referral partners my stance on Zillow for years – not a fan, as you can imagine. Still, they have become a necessary evil for many of us because of their market share and advertising dominance. Personally, I hope this recent fail on their part is a wake-up call for the masses – Get back to being local and build the people and business around you, in your own neighborhoods! I know we all love Amazon, but I am begging we don’t go down that road with the Zillows of the world. Let’s bring this back to the relationship piece, based on real people, with actual knowledge of your area.
Should we be afraid of iBuyers like Zillow? Now, there is still an opportunity for institutional buyers where that “iBuyers” platform might be the right path. But let your realtor, the professional, guide you on all your options and be part of this decision-making process. The seasoned agents I work with every day, take California law and their fiduciary duty to heart; they are genuinely there to give you helpful advice and counsel.
If you are interested in buying or selling a home please contact Weintraub & Wallace Realtors with RE/MAX Gold and Elizabeth Weintraub, Broker. We can be reached at 916-233-6749. Another very interesting blog from our preferred lender, DanTharp.
Why This Sacramento Internet Realtor is on Fire
This Sacramento Internet Realtor responds to sellers and buyers who find her online.
When you ask agents where business comes from, very few, if any, will say from efforts as a Sacramento Internet Realtor, which is exactly where a large bulk of my Sacramento real estate business originates. I have been online since 1991. The internet is not a scary place for me, and my website is mobile friendly for all mobile users. I love and respect internet real estate business. Which is probably why I am a successful Sacramento Internet Realtor.
I adopted the internet early in my life, 25 years ago; it’s why people find me everywhere online. I recall the bulletin boards, which I bet many millennials today have never heard of. I used dial-up modems, which is akin to walking 10 miles to school in the snow, barefoot, uphill. At the moment, I utilize several computers, an iPad and an iPhone to keep me connected.
I also understand the secret of the Internet. The secret is to respond immediately. That’s what people want. I respond immediately because, if I didn’t, I’d probably forget by the time the next inquiry arrived. You know, I’m almost 64. Been at real estate for 40+ years.
Automobile dealers understand the internet is the way consumers shop. Most dealers support an entire internet division who do nothing but talk to car buyers originating from an internet query. Yet, real estate agents have been slow to adopt the internet. They say they want to depend solely on referrals or they prefer ringing doorbells of strangers to ask if they are thinking about buying or selling. It’s strange, but true. I also hear agents say internet leads are worthless crap. They are so wrong about that.
This Sacramento Internet Realtor Cares About YOU
See, I realize that people who send an email or text message to ask about buying a home or selling a home probably want to buy a home or sell a home. They are real people with real needs. And guess what? I am a Sacramento Internet Realtor who will respond and fulfill their desires. It’s why I sell over $30 million a year in a city like Sacramento — where the median sales price is around $280,000.
Every so often, there are those buyers, for example, who might be unemployed or have bad credit but you know what? They still want to buy a home. There is hope for them. Not right now, of course, but a year or two down the road, they will be ready, and the Elizabeth Weintraub Team will be here to serve. Our preferred mortgage lender will prepare these buyers for home ownership. The interesting part is almost 30% of our internet leads end up in escrow with us as compared to 2% to 3% for other agents.
We must be doing something right. If you’d like to talk about real estate, you can email, text or call this Sacramento Internet Realtor. My team and I obviously love to work with you, and our track record supports that statement. My cell is 916.233.6759.
