After shutting down in March due to Covid-19, Zillow’s IBuying arm, Zillow Offers, has resumed home purchases in all 24 of its pre-pandemic markets. The last markets to reopen were Las Vegas, South Florida, the Tampa Bay region and Houston, according to a company statement.
Zillow Offers slowly restarted operations back in May, after competitors Opendoor, Offerpad and Redfin resumed their home purchases.
It’s been bringing markets online with new health guidelines in place, including a value-assessment process that entails just one in-person visit to the property, as opposed to the former standard of three.
The company has found ways to reduce human contact in the sales process, as well. The company rolled out 3D online tours for all homes that it sells, and it’s expanded an app-enabled self-guided tour procedure for in-person viewings.
To guide the process, Zillow has contracted with Regina Benjamin, who served as surgeon general in the Barack Obama administration.
During Q1, Zillow’s homes division accounted for $770 billion of its reported 1.1 billion in revenue. With purchases on hold for half the quarter, and inventory sharply reduced, the picture will look different for Q2 results, which are scheduled for reporting Thursday.
