The Zillow Group has some buyer’s remorse of its own, as the company is seeking to sell about 7,000 homes in an attempt to recover from a major fumble.
According to Bloomberg Wealth, the company is asking for roughly $2.8 billion for the houses, which are being pitched to institutional investors. Zillow will likely sell the properties to a multitude of buyers rather than packaging them in a single transaction, said persons who reported to Bloomberg Wealth under the condition of anonymity.
While Zillow didn’t immediately comment, the move to offload homes comes as the company tries to recover from an operational mistake where it purchased way too many houses, with many being listed for less than the company paid. And since Zillow typically offers smaller numbers of homes to single-family landlords, this current sales effort is much larger than normal.
The fumbled strategy was hinted at in a viral video from TikTok user and real estate agent Sean Gotcher, as per his Linkedin. In the video, which has amassed over 3 million views, he describes an anonymous company who was rigging a local real estate market by buying up homes and inflating their value after collecting website users’ data.
If successful, Zillow’s sale would make a hefty impact on the company’s inventory. The effects have already begun to hit Zillow in the pocketbook, as shares dropped 8.6% to $96.61 on Monday, Nov. 1.