Zillow Offers Partners with More Homebuilders to Simplify the Process of Buying a New Home

Home shoppers looking to purchase a new construction home can sell their existing home to Zillow and enjoy an extended closing time while their new home is being built

News provided by

Zillow

Jan 16, 2020, 08:00 ET

SEATTLE, Jan. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Zillow today announced new partnerships with regional homebuilders across the country to give home shoppers an easier and more convenient way to move into their dream home. The partnerships help home sellers move into their new construction home without the hassle and stress of selling their existing home traditionally, by using Zillow Offers.

Zillow logo, April 2019 (PRNewsfoto/Zillow Group)

Zillow is partnering with homebuilders in select markets across the U.S., including The Providence Group in Atlanta, NewStyle Communities in Charlotte, N.C., Kindred Homes in Dallas and San Antonio, Saratoga Homes in Houston, Avex Homes in Orlando, Fla., Woodbridge Pacific Group in Riverside, Calif., Caviness & Cates, Drees Homes and Stanley Martin Homes in Raleigh, N.C., and Minto Communities in Florida.

When home shoppers buy a new construction home from one of Zillow's homebuilder partners, they have the opportunity to sell their existing home directly to Zillow, on their own timeline, through Zillow Offers. There's no need to deal with the stress and hassle of hosting open houses or prepping their home for sale.

People selling their home through Zillow Offers while buying from one of Zillow's homebuilder partners will also enjoy an extended closing period -- anywhere from seven days to eight months -- so they don't have to worry about timing the sale of their existing home with the move-in date of their new construction home, helping them avoid moving twice or carrying two mortgages simultaneously.

"Many new construction buyers are also trying to sell their current home at the same time as buying, which is stressful," said Lucy Wohltman, Vice President of New Construction at Zillow. "Not only are these buyers trying to prepare for open houses and align timelines, they can be struggling with the daunting reality of owning two homes at once. At its core, Zillow Offers was designed to alleviate these pain points by giving homeowners a quick and efficient way to sell their home in time to purchase their next. And by partnering with more homebuilders across the U.S. through Zillow Offers, we're excited to bring this ease and flexibility to a greater share of home shoppers."

Zillow's homebuilder partnerships will be prominently marketed on all new construction home listings on Zillow and in all homebuilder showrooms. For many builders who have clients needing to sell their existing home at the same time they are purchasing a newly built home, ensuring they have a concrete offer can help increase home sales, eliminate contingencies, and lower risk of cancelled deals.

According to the 2019 Zillow Consumer Housing Trends Report for new construction, one of a new construction buyer's top challenges is timing the completion of their new home with the sale of their previous home (31%). Given the option, about half of new construction buyers (49%) would have liked to change their closing dates.

"Avex Homes is very excited to partner with Zillow on their Zillow Offers program," said Ryan Forrester, Director of Marketing at Avex Homes. "It gives us additional options for our customers and helps us to help them alleviate what can sometimes be a pain point in their new home purchase process."

"We are thrilled that our buyers have the opportunity to simplify the new home buying process even further by being able to synchronize the sale of their current home with the completion date of their new home through Zillow Offers," said Chris Cates, Owner of Caviness & Cates Communities. "Seeing this service expand into the areas where we build is a welcome step into the future of the world of real estate."

"Kindred Homes is excited to integrate Zillow Offers with our home buying process. It will provide our buyers with another tool to make the transition to their new home even easier," said a Kindred Homes spokesperson.

"Minto Communities is excited to expand our partnership with Zillow and offer our customers, with a house to sell, another tool to make their new home buying process less stressful," said Tonia Abrahamsson, Vice President of Sales at Minto Communities. "Zillow Offers is a program that will avoid those unforeseen hiccups that can occur when selling a home. A customer's experience is extremely important to us and providing the tools necessary will ensure a successful closing and happy homeowners."

"At NewStyle Communities, we sell peace of mind; peace of mind knowing that the hassles of home maintenance will be a thing of the past," said Brock Fankhauser, Principal at NewStyle Communities. "Zillow Offers and their home purchase platform is an extension of this hassle-free philosophy and we're delighted to be aligned with them."

"At Stanley Martin Homes, we believe in taking care of our homebuyers," said Lisa Lausten, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Stanley Martin Homes. "By partnering with Zillow Offers, we offer our homebuyers a new option to simplify the process and reduce the stress of selling their existing home."

Zillow Offers is expanding rapidly. The program first launched in Phoenix in 2018 and is currently available for home sellers in 23 markets across the country^{^[1]}. Zillow has also announced plans to bring Zillow Offers to Cincinnati, Jacksonville, Fla. and Oklahoma City in 2020.

In each market where Zillow Offers is available, Zillow works with local agents and brokers on every transaction.

Homebuilders interested in partnering with Zillow Offers can contact [email protected].

About Zillow
Zillow® is transforming how people buy, sell, rent and finance homes by creating seamless real estate transactions for today's on-demand consumer. Zillow is the leading real estate and rental marketplace and a trusted source for data, inspiration and knowledge among both consumers and real estate professionals.

Zillow's proprietary data, technology and industry partnerships put Zillow at nearly every major point of the home shopping experience, helping consumers search for and get into their new home faster. Zillow now offers a fully integrated home shopping experience that includes access to for sale and rental listings, Zillow Offers®, which provides a new, hassle-free way to buy and sell eligible homes directly through Zillow; and Zillow Home Loans, Zillow's affiliated lender that provides an easy way to receive mortgage pre-approvals and financing. Zillow Premier Agent instantly connects buyers and sellers with its network of real estate professionals to help guide them through the home shopping process. For renters, Zillow's innovations are streamlining the way people search, tour, apply and pay rent for leased properties.

In addition to Zillow.com, Zillow operates the most popular suite of mobile real estate apps, with more than two dozen apps across all major platforms. Launched in 2006, Zillow is owned and operated by Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z and ZG) and headquartered in Seattle.

Zillow and Zillow Offers are registered trademarks of Zillow, Inc.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, statements regarding our operational plans for Zillow Offers in 2020. Differences in Zillow Group's actual results from those described in these forward-looking statements may result from actions taken by Zillow Group as well as from risks and uncertainties beyond Zillow Group's control. For more information about potential factors that could affect Zillow Group's business and financial results, please review the "Risk Factors" described in Zillow Group's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, and in Zillow Group's other filings with the SEC.

^{^[1]} Zillow Offers is currently available in Atlanta, Austin, Texas, Charlotte, N.C., Colorado Springs, Colo., Dallas, Denver, Fort Collins, Colo., Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Nashville, Tenn., Orlando, Fla., Phoenix, Portland, Ore., Raleigh, N.C., Riverside, Calif., Sacramento, Calif., San Antonio, San Diego, Tampa, Fla. and Tucson, Ariz.