Schaudenfreude (No More Zillow Offers)

​By now, we’ve all heard about Zillow’s recent missteps in its efforts to flip homes for profit. Zillow Offers (the company’s home-buying wing) will no longer be making cash offers to buy homes, both in North Carolina and in other states. Real estate professionals across the nation had mixed reactions to Zillow’s announcement, but primarily focused on what it meant for local market conditions.

A flipped house

As someone who has long been espousing the benefits of working with local, human real estate brokers, it should be no surprise that I am happy to hear local home sellers will no longer be tempted to sell to a national conglomerate and instead will be seeing offers from real people and smaller, more local investment groups.

Selling to these iBuyers like Zillow and OpenDoor can also tend to make a seller think they don’t need their own representation by a real estate professional. The company is offering cash for the property as-is, so what’s left for the seller to do other than sit back and get paid? Let me assure you: that is not the case. Whether you’re selling your home to a friend, family member, or to a stranger, it is always in your best interest to have a licensed professional represent and defend your interests. We will make sure you are coming out the other side of the transaction smelling like a rose, whereas Zillow is not motivated to do the same.

What This Means for Us
The ludicrous days of 20+ offers on a home, all at least $50,000 over asking price, are coming to an end. This is not to say that the Triangle market is cooling - it is, in fact, still heating up - but we aren’t as competitive as we were 60-90 days ago.

With Zillow, a previously prolific cash investor, pulling out of the market, we are left with a vacuum where their money previously was. Nature abhors a vacuum. Something has to fill that space. 

This is where smaller investment companies and individual investors come in. Real estate is the safest investment there is - the Brits have a saying about it for a reason - so people who are looking to have their money make money are turning to houses. Returns on investment on homes in a hot area like the Triangle are going to be, if they aren’t already, much higher than one can expect from the stock market. The combination of pandemic-driven housing demand and an imminent influx of Apple and Amazon workers means we are sitting on many an opportunity for those with capital to make even more. 

For home buyers who want to buy a house to live in, whether they are first-time or repeat buyers, this means they still have to contend with individuals who have a lot of cash and companies that can offer higher due diligence fees and down payments. They may continue to find themselves frustrated and beat out of the market after multiple rejections by sellers who took the sure thing of a cash offer over a financed buyer. 

The best way to guarantee your needs, wants, and goals are being put first is to work with someone who cares. A local Realtor who needs to build their business in order to put food on the table is going to work on your behalf in a way faceless companies just aren’t motivated to do. Whether you are buying or selling a home, you will benefit from shopping local for your real estate broker - I guarantee it.