Not A single investor bid accepted through Zillow Instant Offers

Hundreds of homeowners have received investor bids since Zillow launched Instant Offers, but none of them had been accepted as of June 5.

On the other hand, the program has generated three listings for one agent, and she could possibly convert more Instant Offers leads in the days ahead.

The results suggest that Zillow Instant Offers investors are certainly not making compelling bids – a result that Zillow Group may have been anticipating. The real estate giant found a method to generate new business for its subscriber base, while positioning itself to potentially capture fees if consumers embrace high-tech investors down the road.“We kind of thought that more people would elect to go with an agent,” said Zillow Group spokesman Dan Evans.

Zillow Instant Offers, an experiment product that Zillow is piloting in Orlando, Florida; and Las Vegas, allows homeowners to receive quick offers from multiple investors alongside a comparative market analysis (CMA) from Zillow agent advertisers. Each CMA request is actually a seller lead for an agent, not simply an acquisition target for an investor.

Zillow currently will not charge any fees for the program.

While hundreds of people had requested bids through Zillow Instant Offers, “We haven’t had anyone choose an investor offer yet,” Evans told Inman on June 5.

Asked June 7 if that that had changed, he explained by email:

“In regards to investors, you asked if any offers have been accepted. There are a few more steps to the process than that, and it’s too early to share hard numbers, but we are aware of some conversations happening between potential sellers and investors.”

Veronica Figueroa, one of the agents receiving leads through Instant Offers, had received about 50 CMA requests as of June 2. Of those requests, Zillow Group claimed it had only delivered 27 CMAs on Veronica’s behalf.

The discrepancy is partly because a few of the leads came from agents testing Instant Offers.

“We’ve realized we can cross check and verify if this is an agent,” Figueroa said.

Zillow Instant Offers has raised the hackles of many agents. Critics say Zillow Group has broken a promise not to step into the middle of the transaction and worry that Instant Offers might popularize an option to listing brokerage.

NAR recently disparaged this program, but antitrust laws prevent the trade group from taking aggressive action.

While iBuyers including Opendoor and OfferPad have gained traction in some markets, the initial results of Instant Offers may allay a lot of the tension in the industry.

Figueroa has been heartened to learn that consumers appear more likely to take a chance on her, rather than accept investor bids.

“The one that I did meet with in her home – she was so sweet and basically gets it,” Figueroa said. The homeowner told Figueroa she wanted “an agent to be able to hold my hand.”