Zillow Offers comes to Houston, Texas

Seattle's main property portal and proptech firm, Zillow, has brought its direct buying and selling service, Zillow Offers, to Houston. This is just another move in the growing iBuyers sector that's disrupting the traditional real estate business model.

The company launched its Zillow Offers operation in Houston recently, adding to a service it already offers in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Denver and Charlotte and Raleigh, N.C.

Part of a new breed of investors, iBuyers purchase homes directly from sellers and quickly put them back on the market. Homeowners who sell their houses to iBuyers don't have to stage their homes or hold open houses, and they can choose their closing dates. The convenience comes at a higher price than the traditional commission a seller would pay an agent: iBuyers can charge fees of as much as 10 percent of the price they pay for the home.

Zillow is one of the most-visited U.S. real estate brands. Zillow Mobile boasts the most popular suite of real estate apps, with nearly 480 million homes viewed in May 2014.

In addition to information and data on nearly all homes in the U.S. (110 million and counting), Zillow visitors can search homes for sale, homes for rent, and homes not currently on the market. Homeowners can browse remodeling ideas in Dueling Digs, or dig into the latest real estate trends in their neighborhood via Zillow's expansive local data pages.

Zillow is a media business model and makes money selling targeted, relevant advertising to real estate professionals, and connecting home and mortgage shoppers with professionals who can help them.

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