Below the Fold - what the heck is happening at Zillow?

View this email in your browser
WELLNESS CHECK
This edition leans...
Hey Below the Fold fam,

The global housing market has been… a mess. With rising property prices, cash-only offers, and rapid outbidding, defeated consumers are looking for somewhere to direct their frustrations — and it seems one company has become the punching bag.
TODAY'S STORY
What the heck is happening at Zillow?
Tue Nov 2

Soon after a TikTok went viral for calling out Zillow’s “flipping” business, the company changed course — though that viral video has likely little to do with it. Here’s what’s going on.
  • In 2018, Zillow began iBuying (instant buying), giving homeowners an easy way to sell their property quickly and without the hassle of process or costly fees. Zillow would then renovate these purchased homes (“flip”) for a profit.
  • Last month, a Las Vegas real estate agent claimed an unnamed company (but was quite obviously Zillow) was manipulating the housing market. Shared through a TikTok, his convoluted scheme showed Zillow buying a high volume of homes in a concentrated area to drive up home prices for higher profit.
  • But in reality, iBuying has been losing money with flipped homes selling for less than cost. Even worse, recent tweaks to the purchasing algorithm led to aggressive home purchasing while competitors like Opendoor and Offerpad remained more cautious due to the constantly changing market. Zillow ultimately lost over $380 million in the third quarter.
  • And that’s why Zillow announced an end to their iBuying division this month, which includes laying off a quarter of its workforce.
So what’s happening to all the homes Zillow bought at above asking price? Sadly, instead of selling to struggling homeseekers, Zillow is negotiating deals with private investors. And as company stock fluctuates in the wake of all these updates, the question remains as to how Zillow will evolve into more than just a destination for listings.

🎬 Take Action

 
Want to learn more about factors affecting the real estate market? Opendoor shares five fundamentals here.
Post Post
Tweet Tweet
Share Share

 

RESOURCE CENTER

Bloomberg:
(Where we found this story)
2 weeks old | 6 minutes long
A simple explainer
9 days old | 6 minutes long
Bloomberg:
The TikTok drama
2 months old | 4 minutes long
The viral videos
1 month old

 

ICYMI (AGAIN)

  • Yesterday: Could sharing political affiliations help school boards?
  • Tuesday: When excessive noise overrides free meal services
  • Monday: A win for women athletes against sexist uniforms
ASCII-ING ABOUT THE NEWS
     `'::::.
        _____A_
       /      /\
    __/__/\__/  \___
---/__|" '' "| /___/\----
   |''|"'||'"| |' '||
   `""`""))""`"`""""`

Due to last quarter’s losses, it looks like we’ll have to clean house.

Art Credit: ASCII Art Archive
Copyright © 2021 Below the Fold, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website.

Our mailing address is:
Below the Fold
2261 Market St # 4135
San Francisco, CA 94114-1612

Add us to your address book


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Older messages

new school rules

Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Political parties, not pizza ones. View this email in your browser WELLNESS CHECK This edition leans... Hey Below the Fold fam, Back in May, Texas banned the teaching of critical race theory — a

privilege versus the poor

Tuesday, November 9, 2021

Free food programs face opposition View this email in your browser WELLNESS CHECK This edition leans... Hey Below the Fold fam, With rising food costs continuing to impact people across the globe,

a win for women’s sports uniforms

Monday, November 8, 2021

The skimpy update follows player and public opposition View this email in your browser WELLNESS CHECK This edition leans... Hey Below the Fold fam, Remember all the discussion around women's

Saudi Arabia pledges to cut planet-warming gases

Friday, November 5, 2021

All while maintaining their oil business... View this email in your browser WELLNESS CHECK This edition leans... Hey Below the Fold fam, With the UN Climate Change Conference underway, a slew of news

the Global Tax Deal is quite the ordeal

Thursday, November 4, 2021

And it's more than a US partisan issue. View this email in your browser WELLNESS CHECK This edition leans... Hey Below the Fold fam, If you've been hearing about the Global Tax Deal but aren

You Might Also Like

AI hallucinates software packages and devs download them – even if potentially poisoned with malware [Fri Mar 29 2024]

Friday, March 29, 2024

Hi The Register Subscriber | Log in The Register {* Daily Headlines *} 29 March 2024 Illustration of someone in a hoodie looking at a bench with a cloud over it AI hallucinates software packages and

What A Day: Clown by law

Friday, March 29, 2024

Trump's lawyers are having another rough one. And the mainstream media could learn a lesson from the legal world about handling corruption. Thursday, March 28, 2024 BY CROOKED MEDIA —Steve Bannon,

🌶️ Is it getting hot in here?

Friday, March 29, 2024

Introducing our theme for April plus fun stuff to read, watch, and click on. March 28, 2024 Open in new tab Did a friend forward this? Subscribe today! April's Theme is SPICY It was chosen by our

What 58 Famous People Smell Like

Friday, March 29, 2024

Here's what you missed on the Strategist. The Strategist Every product is independently selected by editors. If you buy something through our links, New York may earn an affiliate commission. What

Trump Would Need New Tactics to Steal the 2024 Election

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Columns and commentary on news, politics, business, and technology from the Intelligencer team. Intelligencer early and often Trump Would Need New Tactics to Steal the 2024 Election Many avenues Trump

Let’s go fast

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Plus: The worst cleaning tool we've ever tried ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Friday Briefing: Sam Bankman-Fried gets 25 years

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Plus, three video game adventures for the weekend. View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story Ad Morning Briefing: Asia Pacific Edition March 29, 2024 Author Headshot By Justin Porter

Elevate Your Events: Exclusive Discount Inside!

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Explore the future of events at #NWES2024, April 3-4 in Seattle! GeekWire is pleased to present this message to our Pacific NW readers. Explore the future of events at #NWES2024, April 3-4 in Seattle!

Framing a Pitch

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Opening Day Edition ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

☕ We’ll be watching you

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Tag Heuer's watchmaking apprenticeship program. March 28, 2024 Retail Brew PRESENTED BY Listrak Hey hey, everyone. It seems people are unsure whether 7-Eleven's hot dog-flavored sparkling water