New iBuyer Instant Offer Comparison Tool Launched
Zavvie’s Offer Optimizer Technology Helps Home Sellers Navigate iBuyer Multiple Offers.
Boulder, Colo.-based zavvie, a real estate technology platform specializing in hyperlocal connections, announced it has launched a new tool nationwide to help homesellers obtaining multiple offers from iBuyers, a new breed of company that makes instant cash offers for homes. Zavvie is introducing Offer Optimizer, a national instant offer comparison tool powered by advanced technology. Homeowners can click a button to compare instant offers online from leading iBuyers, including Offerpad, Opendoor, Zillow Offers, and Redfin Now.
Today’s consumer wants convenience, speed and predictability. They are ready to Uber-ize every transaction, including selling their home. iBuyers are delivering on this desire for immediate gratification by making instant offers. “Instant offers are the biggest thing to happen to real estate since Zestimates,” says Lane Hornung, zavvie cofounder and CEO. “zavvie puts instant offers on overdrive with Offer Optimizer, ensuring sellers squeeze every last dollar out of their home sale.”
While instant offers only represented 0.2% of all home sales in 2018 — or some 12,700 homes — it is growing exponentially. In Phoenix, for example, iBuyer market share has exploded: one in every 20 homes sold is bought for cash by an iBuyer company.
The zavvie Offer Optimizer, currently available in all major metropolitan areas where instant offer activity is taking hold, uses hyperlocalized iBuyer data to simplify the comparison process, saving sellers time while helping them maximize their net sales proceeds. “Time is money. The question for most sellers is: How much money? Offer Optimizer helps consumers make the right decision” Hornung adds.
The zavvie Offer Optimizer compares all offers and all options by presenting three key insights: what it looks like to sell to a national iBuyer, a local iBuyer, and on the open market.
“zavvie designed Offer Optimizer to provide a near-instant, data-driven answer to the questions: What can I get for my house right now? What are my options?,” explained Hornung.
Home seller Brent Evans in Arlington, Texas didn’t think his home was a candidate for an instant offer. “zavvie took care of everything. They got me not just one, but two instant offers, gave me all the facts and let me decide what was best for me with no pressure. I decided to sell on the open market because it gave me more money, but having offers lined up gave me a good baseline,” Evans said.
zavvie Offer Optimizer provides a detailed breakdown of the various costs and fees — which vary among iBuyers — as well as the typical time frame for a sale to be completed.
The technology features calculations based on actual transactional data specific to the local markets where iBuyer companies operate. For example, Offer Optimizer tells sellers in a given market what percentage of homes are eligible for an instant offer and the likelihood of closing if an instant offer is accepted.
“It’s all about transparency,” explains Hornung. “The consumer thinks instant offers are all the same, but they are not. Sellers need an easy way to collect, compare and choose the best offer, and that’s exactly what zavvie does.”
An example of how zavvie was able to help a homeowner make more money through comparing instant offers is Erica B. in Arvada, Colorado: “I wasn’t even aware of what instant offers were until zavvie presented them to me. I was able to compare all my options: Opendoor’s offer was significantly higher than the first iBuyer offer I received. I went with Opendoor. zavvie helped me make more money!”
Zavvie Introduces New Local Instant Offers
To maximize the options available to a seller, zavvie has partnered with local companies who also make instant offers, often in areas within major markets not covered by the national iBuyers. These local partners include Robert Slack in Orlando and Tampa, Florida; BRIX Real Estate in the Twin Cities, Minneapolis-Saint Paul; Path & Post Real Estate in Atlanta, Georgia; Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Winans in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas; Summa Realty in Portland, Oregon; and 8z Real Estate in the greater Denver area.
“iBuyers will have a growing place in the market, and clients are already asking our agents how they can participate,” said Brad Nix, COO/Owner of Path & Post Real Estate. “Our agents can give Atlanta area home sellers the confidence to compare instant offers in a market that’s cluttered with confusion. We’re excited because with zavvie, we’re breaking new ground with iBuyer innovations,” he added.
zavvie Offer Optimizer is available today to sellers in 21 major metropolitan markets, including Atlanta, Austin, Birmingham, Charlotte, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Houston, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Nashville, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, Raleigh-Durham, Riverside, Sacramento, San Antonio, Tampa and Tucson.
Home sellers can use the zavvie Offer Optimizer at no charge and without registration at zavvie.com/offer-optimizer.
