When Zillow stunned the housing world last November by announcing a wind down of its iBuying program – and beginning the process of laying off a quarter of its workforce – the question became what’s next. Suspense built as Zillow has kept a low profile since.
On Thursday, we got an answer – A super app.
“We are focused on building the ‘housing super app’ – an integrated digital experience in which Zillow connects all the fragmented pieces of the moving process and brings them together into one transaction platform,” wrote CEO Rich Barton and Chief Financial Officer Allen Parker in a letter to shareholders.
The ‘housing super app,’ according to investor slides filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, will provide mortgage pre-approval, “immersive shopping,” facilitate in-person touring, and home financing.
How Zillow would make money from the app was preliminarily discussed in an earnings call that captured a digital age company in transition.
Zillow lost $528 million in 2021, the company reported, compared to losing $162 million in 2020. The loss came amid a historically robust year for U.S. real estate, where housing prices went up, and up and up, and “How to become a real estate agent” was one of the most frequent Google searches. <<<<Article continues on HousingWire.com
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