Zillow Group Stock Price, News & Analysis

Zillow has accelerated the adoption of digital home shopping tools due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company is launching a self-tour feature across all its properties, enabling buyers to tour homes while minimizing contact. Homes with this feature sold six days faster in Phoenix. Additionally, Zillow is enhancing 3D Home virtual tours with floor plans to improve the shopping experience. Surveys indicate 79% of buyers prefer listings with floor plans. Zillow expects these innovations will become standard in real estate transactions.

Zillow's Weekly Market Report indicates a surge in the housing market with homes going under contract at an accelerated rate. Newly pending sales saw a significant increase of 10.9% week-over-week, although they remain 2.4% below last month. Homes sold last week had a median time on the market of 15 days, matching last week's record. However, new listings fell by 0.2% week-over-week, resulting in a 25.5% decrease in inventory year-over-year. The median sale price rose to $262,600, reflecting a 1% year-on-year increase.

On July 31, over 32 million people will lose the $600 weekly unemployment benefits under the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC). A Zillow analysis suggests this will significantly increase rent burdens, especially for Black households. Although the rate of missed rent payments was 12.4% in early July, the expiration of benefits coincides with the end of eviction moratoriums, potentially sparking a housing crisis. Contact-intensive workers, making up 28% of renter households, could face severe cost burdens, with 41% impacted if benefits cease. The current assistance has kept rental payments stable despite record unemployment.

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted New York City's real estate market in Q2 2020, with rental demand plummeting and Manhattan rents falling for the first time since the Great Recession. A record 34.7% of rentals received discounts, and the median asking rent decreased by 6.7%, amounting to $221, while the StreetEasy Manhattan Rent Index fell 0.9% to $3,236. Conversely, interest in outer boroughs surged, with Brooklyn searches up 26% and Queens 24%. Landlords increased virtual tours significantly as remote work trends altered rental priorities.

Zillow's Weekly Market Report reveals a tight housing market with sellers in control. Homes went under contract at record speeds, averaging 20 days on the market, a week faster than last year. Newly pending sales dropped 4%, continuing a trend, while inventory remains critically low, down 22.4% year-over-year. Only 4.1% of listings experienced price cuts, indicating strong demand. The median list price increased to $338,760, up 4.3% year-over-year, driven by more high-end listings.

Zillow Group has resumed buying homes in five additional markets, bringing the total to 20 out of 24 markets for its Zillow Offers program. This move follows a pause on March 23 due to COVID-19. Home sellers in Los Angeles, Riverside, Minneapolis, Cincinnati, and Orlando can now sell directly to Zillow. The company cites a rebound in buyer and seller activity, with web traffic to listings up 41% year-over-year. Zillow is implementing safety protocols developed in partnership with former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin to ensure safe transactions.

Homes are selling faster than ever, with the average listing time dropping to just 20 days, the lowest since 2018, according to Zillow's Weekly Market Report. Despite a slight decline in newly pending sales by 1.8% week over week, the number is up 18.8% from last month. The national median listing price rose to $337,160, up 3.8% year over year. Inventory continues to fall, with new listings down 5.1% over the past week and total inventory down 20.7% compared to last year.

Home buyer demand is increasing, with newly pending sales rising 2.8% week-over-week and 17.7% month-over-month, according to Zillow's Weekly Market Report. Major cities like Philadelphia, New York, and Miami saw significant growth in pending sales. However, total inventory has declined by 0.4% from last week and is 17.1% lower than last year. List prices have also increased, with a median of $332,680, but there may be a projected 1.8% drop in home values from April to October 2020. This indicates a potential market shift in the latter half of the year.

The StreetEasy Brooklyn Price Index fell to $686,285 in May, a 2.7% decline from the previous year, marking the largest drop in nine years. This is also the first time Brooklyn's prices have decreased more sharply than Manhattan's since summer 2018. Price drops were most significant in Brooklyn's luxury homes, down 2.9%, and the bottom-tier homes, down 4.5%. The decline is attributed to reduced buyer demand amid the pandemic and increased inventory levels, creating favorable conditions for buyers seeking affordable options.