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Use of instant-buyer market increases among homeowners

December 2021

Q3 saw a jump in use of iBuying services by homeowners compared to the previous quarter. Commonly known as instant buyers, iBuyers are home-buying and selling services that buy off-market homes directly from sellers, to then turn and sell on the open market.

Fresh off a record-setting Q2 2021, the number of homes bought and then sold by iBuyers set new highs last quarter, according to a Zillow analysis. As home prices rose across the country, the homes iBuyers purchased were more expensive, and the markup when those homes were sold fell significantly from previous quarters’ markups.

Instant buyers, commonly known as iBuyers, are home-buying and -selling services that typically buy off-market homes directly from sellers at market rate and, after making light repairs and updates, quickly list them for sale on the open market.

In the 36 largest iBuyer markets, homeowners sold 27,244 homes in Q3 using one of the four largest iBuying services: Opendoor, Zillow Offers, Offerpad and RedfinNow.

That represents 1.9% of all U.S. home sales last quarter, and exceeds the previous record of 14,961 homes set in Q2 of this year. Those iBuyers sold 10,728 homes during the same period, also a record high. 

Amid record home value appreciation, iBuyers paid more for homes in Q3 than in any previous quarter. The median price of home sales using an iBuying service was $376,000 last quarter, up from $333,000 in Q2 and 13.9% higher than the overall Q3 U.S. median sale price of $329,970.