Q: I read that Zillow closed its iBuying arm. Does that surprise you? Curtis, Nyack, NY A: Another one bites the dust. Yes, Zillow announced last week that it would sunset its iBuying arm, which was its fix and flip business. Zillow also announced it will be laying off 25% of its staff. Zillow’s foray into house flipping is outside of their focus and capability and was doomed to fail from the beginning. Many Wall Street backed real estate start-ups end up overpaying for property so they can raise more money, hoping for short-term appreciation–they obviously don’t understand the difference between investing and speculating. I’m skeptical of most wall street backed real estate start-ups because residential real estate fundamentally is […]
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