iBuying is the process in which home sellers bypass traditional listing and sales practices, receiving in exchange both cash from a third-party investor and an accelerated closing schedule.
For many home sellers over the last few decades, this iBuying concept has been the stuff of dreams – sweat dreams.
For many real estate agents over the last few decades, this iBuying concept has been the stuff of dreams too – but for them it may have been nightmares.
In an attempt to allay the fears of sellers, real estate agents might dangle the hope of closing in 60-90 days, and support such a hope by promising that after X Open Houses and/or Y days, they will lower the price to reel in a buyer. Of course, many homes sell in less than 60 days, and a significant number sell at full, or above, asking price. That’s the gamble, right?
For many home sellers, the above narrative from the real estate agent does not instill confidence. But what can you do? This is the way everyone has to do it. Stop. Back up and rewrite that. This is the way everyone had to do it.
The roots of the iBuyer movement can probably be traced to 2014 with the creation of OpenDoor.com, an online home-selling service aimed at streamlining the sales process down to a few days. The iBuyer market began to really gain altitude and speed with the creation of OfferPad.com in early 2016 and Knock.com in mid 2016 with the promise that “we can sell a home in less than 6 weeks or we buy it ourselves at market value.”
