Zillow's Gone to Zero After Buying 3,800 Houses 2nd Quarter

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Shucks, I was having fun watching them overpay.
 ************************************************************************************* Has The Housing Bubble Peaked: Zillow Pauses Robo-Flipping Due To "Snags"

In recent weeks we had heard several anecdotal reports that Zillow's electronic house flipping service was underperforming, buying houses at overinflated prices and then flipping them for a loss (even when factoring in fees and commissions).

It appears there has been some truth to that, because according to Bloomberg, Zillow, which acquired more than 3,800 homes in the second quarter, "will stop pursuing new home purchases as it works through a backlog of properties already in its pipeline."

However, instead of admitting that we may be nearing (or have already passed) the peak of yet another housing bubble, Zillow has instead blamed "operational capacity" and being short staffed to meet the pace of transactions.

None of this of course would be an issue if Zillow merely hiked wages, a step that would immediately fill all the vacant positions and resolve its "stated challenges" overnight at a tiny hit to profit margins. The fact that it has not done so suggests that the cause has nothing to do with the stated reason for the flipping pause. Instead, the most likely reason why Zillow is pulling back from robo-flipping is that the housing market is starting to crack and this particular segment is no longer profitable.

“Zillow seem to be selling some houses now lower then they bought them at loss?

P ic.twitter.com/x0khRRWH7J”

- LookingAhead (@ parklandtrader) September 18, 2021

Zillow bought my parents old house in 2019 and ended up taking a loss cause they did minor renovations after but ended up selling it for less then what zillow paid them. My parents skated away with that check so fast.  https:/ /t.co/JePzW4s2LC

 Agatha Harkness (@ lexisloopy) September 23, 2021