Re: Zillow’s IBuyer Program

So the numbers are finally in on Zillow’s IBuyer program.

Zillow bought and sold – are you ready for this? – 414 homes last quarter.

For a national company, that is barely a blip on the radar.

But the real news is just how much money they lost…….

According to a recent article, and based on their quarterly earnings call:

Zillow lost $109,190 per flip on average.

Of course, due to the miracle that is Wall Street – these numbers caused the stock price of Zillow to jump 19%.

https://wolfstreet.com/2019/05/10/house-flipper-zillow-lost-109k-35-per-flip-net-loss-triples-shares-soar/

So, long term, we will see if this magnitude of losses will continue. I think some of the companies that are getting into our mom and pop flipping business are going to have monumental failures.

The numbers for these IBuyers have never added up for me and the people I work with – we know what goes into flipping a property the right way.

To sum it up – these guys don’t scare me. Especially in the DC area. They just won’t be able to make it work.

Who know. Maybe some of these companies will fail so horribly we will start to see their homes show up at the local courthouse as part of the foreclosure process.

So, there is a reason we started talking about foreclosures last month and will conclude the conversation this Monday at our May WREIA meeting.

More than 20 years in this business has taught me a few things.

One of the major things – this is a cyclical business. Right now, we are in the part of the cycle where it is prudent to be careful and not overextend on projects.

But even more so – this is a great time to put your head down and focus on profits.

The next couple of years could be very interesting in the world of real estate.

Especially here in the DC area.

The DC area is unique and provides an interesting mix of opportunity for us as investors. A lot hinges on the job market and the typical job profile has changed dramatically in the last few years.

When you understand the DC area job market and couple that with a deep understanding of the foreclosure process you can make better decisions on the properties you want to focus on when you go “shopping” for foreclosures.

We will be discussing a few key points for investors in an interactive WREIA meeting this month.

• How will the DC area real estate market respond if we do dip into another national recession?
• What should you do as homeowners or renters to prepare for a change in trends?
• Are online auctions as good as “real life” auctions?

Let’s cover a few of those questions and more this Monday at our May WREIA meeting.

As always – we will focus on the DC real estate market and how we as investors can best help people and make a profit at the same time.

Come out this Monday, May 20th, and hear what is working (and not working) across the DC area.

Join us at WREIA this month and you can learn from REAL PEOPLE having REAL SUCCESS in Real Estate.

Happy May and come join us on Monday at WREIA!

John Peterson
Founder, Washington Real Estate Investors Association

Wholesalers – bring your deals to share with WREIA members!