After an unpredictable spring, Zillow Group said it has beat its outlook in the second quarter.
The group’s total consolidated revenue grew 28% year over year in Q2, to $768 million, with a total net loss of $84 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,” Zillow Group Cofounder and CEO Rich Barton said in a statement.
Due to the impact of COVID-19, Zillow’s iBuying solution, Zillow Offers, was fully paused from March until this Tuesday.
Because of this, the company sold 1,437 homes and purchased 86 homes through Zillow Offers, ending the second quarter with 440 homes in inventory. By the end of Q2, Zillow Offers’ revenue also grew to $453.8 million, compared to $248.9 million a year prior.
In response to COVID-19, Zillow rolled out self-guided, in-person tours and worked to make it easier for renters to search, find, apply and lease a home entirely via Zillow Rentals. Traffic to the Zillow Group’s mobile apps and websites reached a record 218 million average monthly unique users, an increase of 12% year over year, driving 2.5 billion visits during Q2.
Zillow’s Premier Agent solution’s revenue was $192 million in Q2, although decreasing 17% year over year. Zillow said the decline was significantly less than its outlook range of a decrease of 27% at the midpoint Premier Agent revenue. This is also due to the impact of COVID-19.
“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,” Barton said. “In addition, real estate, like other industries, is experiencing an acceleration in technology adoption, as people move their shopping habits from offline to online.”
The company said it closed Q2 with the highest cash balance in its history, with cash and investments at $3.4 billion compared to $2.6 billion at the end of Q1.
“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 added.
Zillow closed its revenue report saying that in Q3, it plans to accelerate technology innovations to deliver “seamless” and, now, more virtual real estate shopping and transaction experiences. The company has also pledged at least $1 million over the next 12 months to support lasting partnerships to fight racism and discrimination. It is also furthering its partnership with the National Fair Housing Alliance to support fair housing opportunities.
