The Return to iBuying: US Portals are Answering Consumer Demand

A number of US property portals are bringing back their iBuyer schemes even amidst the pandemic. At the beginning of COVID-19’s reign, the iBuyer business model suffered major blows as companies cut iBuying first in order to save resources. 

Redfin, as well as Zillow, are promising to start up iBuying operations again while Opendoor and Offerpad have already returned to iBuying within the last week. 

This return to buying houses for sale to flip them comes with new measures to further protect the scheme. Offerpad’s iBuying initiative comes with new safety certifications and Opendoor launched a contact-free selling platform in Phoenix. 

Rich Barton, Zillow’s CEO, told shareholders that Zillow will return to iBuying in a couple of weeks:

“There are a number of factors we are considering that will influence the timing of our restart, including one, the health and safety of our employees, customers and partners; two, local orders and public health concerns; three, local housing market factors, and four, confidence in our ability to consistently price and transact.”

Redfin revealed that its iBuying scheme, now called Redfin Now, will restart in Austin, Texas, Denver, Colorado, and Inland Empire in California. 

Glenn Kelman, President and CEO of Redfin, explained that his company had performed much better than expected considering how chaotic the market is due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Barton also revealed that consumer demand is on the rise and Zillow Offers is ready to meet those demands.