iBuyer sales hit all-time high in second quarter

“The growing number of homeowners using an iBuyer service clearly demonstrates that sellers desire an easier way to sell their homes, with more certainty and less stress, even in a hot sellers’ market,” Zillow Chief Operating Officer Jeremy Wacksman said in a release. “iBuyers remove some of the traditional homeselling pain points, unsticking homeowners previously put off by the hassles of selling a home or worried about timing their next purchase. This brings net-new inventory to the market, mainly at an affordable price point near the middle of the market, adding liquidity to the market that has traditionally been difficult for consumers to navigate.”

Zillow examined the purchases and sales of the four largest U.S. iBuyers — Zillow Offers, Opendoor, RedfinNow and Offerpad — in 33 markets, starting in 2018. In the second quarter, 83.6 percent of homes sold to them had not been previously listed for sale, adding liquidity to the market.

Homeowners used an iBuying service to sell more than 15,000 homes in the second quarter for a total of nearly $5.3 billion. That’s more than double the 7,000 homes sold through an iBuyer for $2.1 billion in the first quarter and shatters the previous record of about 10,400 homes for almost $2.8 billion in the third quarter 2019. Market share for iBuyers in the second quarter reached 1 percent of all U.S. home sales for the first time.

iBuyers in the second quarter typically held homes they sold for 64 days, which included getting the home ready to sell, time the home spent on the market and time to close. Homes often went pending within a week of being listed, and more than a third sold above list price.

The metro areas with the most home sales using an iBuying service in the second quarter were Atlanta, Phoenix and Dallas. iBuyers had a market share of 5 percent or more in Phoenix, Charlotte, N.C., and Atlanta.