Zillow Direct Buying Program: Just The Facts

Though rumored in November, Zillow recently announced their direct buying program for home sellers in Houston, Texas.

What Is The Zillow Direct Buying Program?

In real estate, a direct buying program is one that allows consumers to sell their homes to real estate companies instead of to individual buyers.

Zillow’s direct buying program, called Zillow Offers, allows sellers to request a no-obligation, no-fee cash offer from Zillow. If a seller accepts the amount Zillow offers, the company purchases the home, prepares it and lists it for sale using local real estate agents.

Sellers who don’t accept Zillow Offers are connected to local agents or Premier Agents (agents that work with Zillow’s Premier Agents service).

Zillow Offers was previously available for sellers in Atlanta, Charlotte, Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Raleigh. The program has plans to expand to Dallas later this year.

How Will Zillow Direct Perform In Texas?

Presumably, Zillow will see home-seller interest, though they have competition from similar services like RedfinNow, Opendoor, Offerpad and Knock.

Zillow Brand President Jeremy Wacksman is excited about the Zillow Offers expansion to Houston and stated, “In just nine months, Zillow Offers has already helped thousands of homeowners sell their home in a simple and stress-free way. What we’ve overwhelmingly heard from these consumers is that they love the control we give them over the entire process. Starting today, Houston-area homeowners are able to use this innovative, consumer-first service for one of the largest financial transactions of their lives.”

What Do Direct Buying Programs Mean For Mortgage Marketers?

As a mortgage marketer, it’s riskier than ever to put all your eggs in one basket. Traditionally, loan originators relied on real estate agents to connect them with prospective home buyers, but the digital revolution gave birth to tech giants. Now mortgage professionals can and should implement multichannel marketing strategies, including online lead generation and partnerships with multiple real estate tech brands, to gain online referrals and brand exposure.

With Texas home values up 8.2% over the past year and the expectation of a further increase within the next year, direct buying services appear to be going where the markets are hot.

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About the Author

Victoria Pallien is a Marketing Communications Writer at Digital Media Solutions (DMS), the fastest-growing independent digital performance marketing company. DMS helps its clients accelerate growth by deploying diversified and data-driven customer acquisition solutions that deliver scalable, sustainable and measurable marketing results. DMS performance marketing solutions connect the right consumers with the right offers at the right time to achieve the marketing objectives of our clients. DMS is continually innovating to provide new and emerging media and technology solutions that minimize waste and maximize results across the most competitive industries. Since its inception, DMS has demonstrated incredible year-over-year growth which has earned recognition on the Inc. 5000 list in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

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