SEATTLE, March 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Zillow Group,
Inc. (NASDAQ:Z) (NASDAQ:ZG), which is transforming the way people
buy, sell, rent, and finance homes, today announced it will pause
home buying in all 24 markets where Zillow Offers currently
operates in response to local public health orders related to
COVID-19 and to help protect the safety and health of its
employees, customers and partners.
"Our top priority is ensuring the safety and health of our
employees, customers, and partners. Given the concerns for public
safety and rapid developments by governments that restrict local
real estate activities, we determined it was prudent to pause our
home buying to preserve our capital," said Zillow Group CEO and
co-founder Rich Barton. "We plan to
restore Zillow Offers full operations once health concerns pass and
local health orders are lifted. In the meantime, we are working to
support our customers and partners in these uncertain times when
home has never been more important."
This decision to temporarily pause making offers to sellers
comes after several counties and states, including California, Illinois, Louisiana, Ohio, New
York and Nevada, have
implemented emergency orders requiring people to stay home and all
non-essential business activities, including some real-estate
related activities, to temporarily stop.
Zillow will continue to market and sell homes through Zillow
Offers, but will temporarily suspend plans to open additional
Zillow Offers markets. To help protect Zillow customers and
partners, the company halted open houses for its homes in all
markets last week. All Zillow-owned homes include proprietary
Zillow 3D Home technology to make virtual home tours easier and
Zillow's local broker and Premier Agent partners offer virtual
consultations.
"Zillow Group is well positioned to navigate these unprecedented
times. We already slowed our pace of acquiring homes over the past
month, while our pace of home sales in the quarter accelerated. We
have a strong balance sheet and cash position, and are taking
proactive steps to reduce spending to offset the important
financial support we're giving our industry partners so we may
continue to best serve our mutual customers," added Barton.
Zillow Group ended 2019 with 2,707 homes in inventory. As
of March 19, the company's home
inventory balance had been reduced to approximately 1,860
homes.
Barton and Zillow Group CFO Allen
Parker will host a conference call after market close today
at 2 p.m. PDT/5p.m. EDT to discuss this news as well as provide
a general business update. A link to the live webcast and recorded
replay of the call will be available through the "Events &
Presentations" section of the Zillow Group investor relations
website. The live call may also be accessed via phone (866)
270-1533 toll-free domestically and at (412) 317-0797
internationally.
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 outlook, financial condition, and the future of
Zillow Group, Zillow Offers, and other parts of our business.
Statements containing words such as "may," "believe," "anticipate,"
"expect," "intend," "plan," "project," "will," "projections,"
"continue," "estimate," "outlook," "guidance," or similar
expressions constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements are made based on assumptions as of March 23, 2020, and although we believe the
expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are
reasonable, we cannot guarantee these results. 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. Factors that may contribute to such differences include,
but are not limited to, Zillow Group's ability to execute on
strategy; Zillow Group's ability to maintain and effectively manage
an adequate rate of growth; Zillow Group's investment of resources
to pursue strategies that may not prove effective; natural
disasters, epidemics or pandemics, like COVID-19, that could
negatively impact our business; and the impact of the real estate
market and economy on Zillow Group's business. The foregoing list
of risks and uncertainties is illustrative but not exhaustive. 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, 2019
filed with the SEC and in Zillow Group's other filings with the
SEC. Except as may be required by law, Zillow Group does not
intend, and undertakes no duty to update this information to
reflect future events or circumstances.
About Zillow Group
Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z) (NASDAQ: ZG), the largest
portfolio of real estate brands on mobile and the web, is building
an on-demand real estate experience. Whether selling, buying,
renting or financing, customers can turn to Zillow's businesses to
find and get into their next home with speed, certainty and ease.
In addition to Zillow's for-sale and rental listings, Zillow Offers
buys and sells homes directly in dozens of markets across the
country, allowing sellers control over their timeline. Zillow Home
Loans, our affiliate lender, provides our customers with an easy
option to get pre-approved and secure financing for their next home
purchase. Millions of people visit Zillow Group sites every month
to start their home search, and now they can rely on Zillow to help
them finish it — with the same confidence, ease and empowerment
they've come to expect from real estate's most-trusted brand.
Zillow and Zillow Offers are registered trademarks of Zillow,
Inc. Zillow Home Loans, LLC is an Equal Housing Lender; NMLS
10287, www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org. The company is
headquartered in Seattle.
(ZFIN)
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SOURCE Zillow Group