The coronavirus pandemic has led to a stellar quarter for Zillow, as potential homebuyers looked online.
The pandemic has forced many individuals to take a second look at their housing situation. With people spending unprecedented amounts of time at home during lockdown and quarantine orders, many are looking to upgrade their homes with more room and features conducive to telecommuting. Others are looking to take advantage of work from home trends, and move out of expensive neighborhoods or cities to more scenic and affordable locales.
These factors led to a stellar quarter for the company, reporting that revenue grew 28% year over year to $768 million. This was up from industry estimates of $618 million.
“Zillow’s second quarter results are even better than we had hoped, and firm up our belief that powerful tailwinds in both real estate and technology are rapidly converging, with Zillow at the nexus,” said Zillow Group co-founder and CEO Rich Barton. “I believe we are at the dawn of a Great Reshuffling, as COVID and work-from-home policies are inspiring people to rethink their homes and consider moving. In addition, real estate, like other industries, is experiencing an acceleration in technology adoption, as people move their shopping habits from offline to online. We’re lucky to be in a position to serve our customers no matter how they want to move, whether through a seamless Zillow Offers transaction or in partnership with our best-in-class Premier Agents.
“Even more important than the business results is the way our team has responded over the past several months, as we all grapple with fear, loss, protest, and anger through a health crisis and social reckoning. We’ve managed through all of this with a strong commitment that we can and will do more to support our communities and address systemic barriers in real estate.”
Barton’s comments that he believes this is the beginning of a “Great Reshuffling” are significant and should give many industry leaders pause.