SEATTLE and LOS ANGELES, Dec. 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Homeowners throughout Southern California can now sell their home to the most trusted name in real estate. Zillow Offers, launched today, lets sellers skip the hassle of listing their home by selling directly to Zillow.

With today's launch, Zillow Offers is now available to homeowners across a large portion of Southern California including the Inland Empire (Riverside) and San Diego. In just 19 months since Zillow Offers first launched in Phoenix, it has grown to a total of 22¹ markets across the country - with Los Angeles, the nation's 2nd largest housing market, representing the largest market where Zillow Offers is available to-date.

Selling a home is a major life experience, full of emotions and significant financial implications. Most (64%)  home sellers are also looking to buy a home at the same time, and uncertainty around the timing of a sale and price cause the most stress for them². With Zillow Offers, sellers have control over their timeline and can choose the close date that fits their schedule. Sellers also don't have to deal with making repairs or improvements to get their homes sale-ready, a stressful prospect for more than half of sellers².

Homeowners who request an offer from Zillow can expect a fair market value offer on their home. A recent Zillow analysis found that sellers who declined a Zillow Offer and went on to sell traditionally within the next few months sold their homes for an average of just 0.22 percent more than Zillow's offer.

Homes in the Los Angeles metro now take about a week longer to sell than they did a year ago, and local home value appreciation is nearly flat over the past year³. Zillow Offers provides another choice for sellers looking at all of their options to sell their homes.

Homeowners interested in Zillow Offers can simply enter their address on Zillow's website or app and answer some basic questions about their home. If eligible, they will receive a preliminary cash offer within about 48 hours. Potential sellers don't have to make any binding decisions until their home has been evaluated by a Zillow representative in person. Zillow has dedicated support from English- and Spanish-speaking representatives to help sellers through the process.

After closing on a home, Zillow will take care of necessary repairs, working with local contractors to complete projects like a fresh coat of paint, servicing HVAC units and other work a typical homeowner would do to get their home ready for sale.

"We know how difficult and stressful it can be to sell a home, so we are rebuilding the experience of buying and selling a home to make it a much simpler, smoother process," said Jeremy Wacksman, Zillow Brand President. "In the 20 months since we first introduced Zillow Offers, we've seen that there is a strong appetite for another option when it comes to selling a home. We're thrilled to launch Zillow Offers today in one of the largest markets in the country, and look forward to easing the friction and helping sellers move to the next stage of their life without the hassle and uncertainty of a traditional home sale."

"I needed extra funding to work on my movie, and needed to sell my property in Las Vegas," said James Su of Arcadia, Calif., who sold his home in July 2018. "The whole process of selling through Zillow Offers was so easy. From start to finish, there were no surprises, and I didn't have to deal with all the troubles that are associated with selling a home. Zillow made the stressful undertaking of selling a home much smoother and easier, and fast enough to use the proceeds to fund my movie."

As Zillow works to build a seamless, integrated real estate transaction, consumers can get financing from Zillow's owned affiliate lender, Zillow Home Loans, making it simpler for Zillow Offers buyers and sellers to get pre-approved for their next home purchase.

Zillow has also announced that the home-selling service will be coming to Cincinnati, Jacksonville, Fla., Oklahoma City and Tucson, Ariz. by the middle of 2020.

A Los Angeles-based broker will represent Zillow in each transaction when buying or selling a home. Home sellers who request a Zillow offer but decide to sell traditionally can be connected with a local real estate agent to represent them in the sale.

About Zillow
Zillow® is transforming how people buy, sell, rent and finance homes by creating seamless real estate transactions for today's on-demand consumer. Zillow is the leading real estate and rental marketplace and a trusted source for data, inspiration and knowledge among both consumers and real estate professionals.

Zillow now offers a fully integrated home shopping experience that includes access to for sale and rental listings, Zillow Offers®, which provides a new, hassle-free way to buy and sell eligible homes directly through Zillow; and Zillow Home Loans, Zillow's affiliated lender that provides an easy way to receive mortgage pre-approvals and financing. Zillow Premier Agent instantly connects buyers and sellers with its network of real estate professionals to help guide them through the home shopping process. For renters, Zillow's innovations are streamlining the way people search, tour, apply and pay rent for leased properties.

In addition to Zillow.com, Zillow operates the most popular suite of mobile real estate apps, with more than two dozen apps across all major platforms. Launched in 2006, Zillow is owned and operated by Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z and ZG) and headquartered in Seattle.

Zillow and Zillow Offers are registered trademarks of Zillow, Inc.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, statements regarding our operational plans for Zillow Offers in 2020.  Differences in Zillow Group's actual results from those described in these forward-looking statements may result from actions taken by Zillow Group as well as from risks and uncertainties beyond Zillow Group's control. For more information about potential factors that could affect Zillow Group's business and financial results, please review the "Risk Factors" described in Zillow Group's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, and in Zillow Group's other filings with the SEC.

¹ Zillow Offers is available in Atlanta, Austin, Texas, Charlotte, N.C., Colorado Springs, Colo., Dallas, Denver, Fort Collins, Colo., Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Nashville, Tenn., Orlando, Fla., Phoenix, Portland, Ore., Raleigh, N.C., Riverside, Calif., Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego and Tampa, Fla.
² http://zillow.mediaroom.com/2019-10-10-Uncertainty-Causes-More-Stress-for-Home-Sellers-than-Repairs-and-Showings
³ Zillow October 2019 Market Report

SOURCE Zillow