Zillow announced that Portland, Oregon, has become the 12th market where it can now directly buy homes [1], giving homeowners a new way to sell their properties.
"Sellers across the country have shown that they are looking for an easier, less stressful way to sell their home," said Zillow Brand President Jeremy Wacksman. "We're excited to launch our first market in the Pacific Northwest today, giving potential home sellers in Portland and Vancouver the certainty and transparency they want when selling their home. Zillow Offers provides a seamless transaction experience, helping sellers move on to the next step in their life."
The markets of Vancuver, British Columbia, and Washington can also use this new feature to request a cash offer from Zillow.
Zillow stated that selling a home is one of the most stressful experiences, and a recent survey from Zillow [2] found more than a third of home sellers said the process “left them in tears.”
Zillow Offers was first launched in Phoenix last April, and is currently available in Las Vegas, Nevada; Atlanta, Georgia; Denver, Colorado; Charlotte, North Carolina; Raleigh, North Carolina; Houston, Texas; Riverside, California; Dallas, Texas; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Orlando, Florida.
Zillow also has plans to expand this service to additional markets by the end of Q1 2020, bringing the total number of planned Zillow Offers markets to at least 20.
Zillow works with local agents and brokers on every transaction. Zillow pays a commission to local real estate agents when it buys and sells a home. A Portland broker will represent Zillow in each transaction.
According to Zillow, more than 100,000 homeowners across the nation as of May 2019 have requested a cash offer from Zillow to buy their house.
And the selling market may be now, according to a report by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) [3]that stated 46% Americans in Q2 2019 believe now is the time to sell.
Optimism in selling increased from 37% in Q1 2019, and NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said moderate increases in home prices is a contributing factor.
“With home price appreciation slowing, home sellers understand that the days of large price gains from holding an extra year are over,” Yun said.