Zillow Group Inc. said Monday that it is pausing home purchases through the end of the year as it works through a backlog of inventory.
Shares of the Seattle-based online real estate marketplace collapsed by as much as 11% and were on track to their highest close in 13 months.
We are operating within a labour- and supply-constrained economy inside a competitive real estate market, especially in the construction, renovation and closing spaces, said Zillow Chief Operating Officer Jeremy Wacksman. Pausing new contracts will enable us to focus on sellers already in contract with us and our current home inventory. Zillow sold through its Zillow Offers business a record 3,805 home in the second quarter and bought 2,086 homes. The number of purchases more than double the previous quarter, and boosted Zillow s inventory to 3,142 homes.
Zillow Offers is a program which allows homeowners to sell their homes without having to fix up or show them. Zillow lists these projects and then takes care of the home for sale.
Zillow is on the verge of reporting its third-quarter earnings on Nov. 4. The company is expected to report a loss of 12 cents per share on revenue of $2 billion.
Zillow shares are down 54% from their Feb 16 peak through Friday. They had gained 767% from their January high level in March 2020 through the February low.