Denver homeowners this fall will have another option available to them when it comes time to sell. They can ask Zillow, the online real estate marketplace, to make them a cash offer.
Whether it will be an offer they can’t refuse is another matter. But Zillow said the program is designed to smooth out some of the headaches that come with trying to find a new home while selling the old one.
“Zillow Offers is designed to help address one of the biggest pain points for home sellers – the uncertainty and inconvenience of how and when they can sell their house,” Zillow Brand President Jeremy Wacksman said in a statement.
Zillow Offers is available in Phoenix and Las Vegas and is rolling out in Atlanta. Denver will be the fourth city added.
Within two days of receiving a request from a seller, Zillow will make a no-obligation cash offer or it will say pass. If an offer is made and accepted, Zillow will buy the home, prepare it for sale and then list the property. The timing of the transaction is at the discretion of the seller.
The new program generated controversy among agents when it was announced earlier this year. Zillow has built a strong connection to consumers through its online listings, home valuation tools and market data.
Some agents fear that Zillow wants to cut them out of the equation, not unlike how Uber used technology and convenience to upend the traditional taxi model.
But Zillow emphasizes that agents will remain at the center of its transactions and that it will pay commissions to agents on both sides. Those can run 5 percent to 6 percent of a home’s sale price.
Not every seller will receive an offer, and some, not liking the one they get, may want to test the market using an agent. In those cases, Zillow will direct sellers to “premier” agents at one of three area brokerages it has partnered with.
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“Zillow Offers is the kind of innovative program that complements our strengths as a local brokerage, and one we believe can deliver a better real estate experience for the Denver consumer,” said Lane Hornung, CEO and founder of 8z Real Estate, in a news release.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Innovative Real Estate and RE/MAX Alliance are the two other Denver area real estate firms that Zillow is working with initially.
Amanda Woolley, a spokeswoman for Zillow, said the Seattle-based company has purchased or is under contract to purchase dozens of homes in Las Vegas and Phoenix. Some of those homes are close to being resold.
