Back in 2014, a company called Opendoor launched what was a novel business model at the time—letting people sell their homes “with a few clicks on a computer.” Early investors included Sam Altman, now of OpenAI fame, and Paypal co-founder Max Levchin, at a time when numerous “disruptors” promised to restructure the real estate process with big data and new tech.
More than a decade later, the company is not quite the Silicon Valley darling it once was. The pandemic boom market inspired a bevy of imitators, nearly all of whom have since abandoned the so-called “iBuying” business. Facing accusations that executives exaggerated the company’s ability to adapt to market changes, Opendoor has diversified its business, partnering with traditional brokerages and lenders as (like many others in proptech) it faces the challenge of a down market.
Today, the company is announcing what CEO Carrie Wheeler describes as a “strategic evolution.” After trialing an agent partnership program in a handful of markets, Opendoor is leaning heavily into lead generation and referrals with a major expansion of its agent partnership program, dubbed “Key Connections”—seeking to put traditional real estate agents face-to-face with sellers who have requested iBuying services.
In a conversation with RISMedia, Nick Boniakowski, head of agent partnerships at Opendoor, says while it is “still early,” the program is meant to “reach more sellers, earning more revenue from any sale path, not just the cash.”
“Our hope is that it’s another step forward and us continuing to build a platform that’s not just for sellers, but also for agents to incorporate into their business,” he says.
The shift is another example of a company that had aspirations to upend real estate transactions, returning (at least partially) to focus on the agent-client relationship. Going back to the early days of Zillow and online marketplaces, many other tech-powered, well-funded startups sought to create new ways for people to buy and sell homes that didn’t directly involve full-service real estate professionals, with most now heavily relying on revenue from agent partnership, advertising, referrals or sales.
Initially, the new program will remain invitation-only, according to a release from the company, launching in only a few markets. Currently, agents who partner with Opendoor share a portion of their commission if a seller lists with them, with no upfront cost—similar to Zillow’s “Flex” program.
At the same time, Opendoor has continued to invest in its iBuying business, and doesn’t appear to be abandoning the instant offer model, despite a significant decrease in volume.
After flipping almost 22,000 homes in 2021 and raking in $8 billion in revenue, the company sold 13,500 properties in 2024.
But the pivot to “Key Connections” appears to be at least somewhat of an acknowledgement that especially in a down market, selling services to agents is still the most reliable way to make money in the industry. Boniakowski says Opendoor is also launching a dedicated app for agents with tools to help them “gather information” to get a seller their instant offer—essentially deputizing agents into the iBuying process.
“Just another example of how we’re developing that platform for not just our customers, but also for our agent partners and customers,” he says.
New markets
Earlier this month, Opendoor paid almost $40 million to settle a lawsuit by investors that accused the company of misrepresenting its home-flipping prowess. While not admitting any fault, the lawsuit had focused on the iBuyer’s alleged inability to automate transactions, failing to understand local MLS rules and pricing properties poorly.
The new program brings in a human real estate professional earlier in the process, according to Boniakowski.
“In the past, a seller may come to Opendoor, get their cash offer, meet with one of our local assessors and go through the property to make sure they get that offer delivered,” he describes. “And then later on, they are presented an option…to meet with one of our (agent) partners.”
With Key Connections, sellers have the option much earlier to request that an agent visit their home and “guide them through the Opendoor process, and also discuss their selling options,” Boniakowski says.
This is where Opendoor hopes to differentiate from other “referral programs” that sell leads. Boniakowski claims that there is a “big difference” between the programs that offer names and emails, and Opendoor’s plan to bring agents right to seller’s homes.
He adds that cash offers give agents an edge as they offer their services to a prospective seller.
“When you talk about differentiation, in addition to us integrating our agent partners into the Opendoor process…we actually have the ability to give that customer that option (of a cash offer),” Boniakowski says. “And I think that allows our agent partners to…convert more customers because they’re showing up with the cash offer.”
But one of the main challenges with the iBuying business that Opendoor (and others) have yet to solve is the fact that quick cash offers are at least somewhat a market-sensitive product. In theory, during cycles when cash offers are less in demand, there may also be fewer referrals for agents in the Key Connection programs.
Boniakowski says that’s not the case.
“In my experience, no matter the market, there is always interest in getting a cash offer for your home,” he says. “It’s one of the most powerful offerings in real estate, and we’ve seen this throughout the years in all types of markets.”
Part of Opendoor’s partnership with agents is that during the process, sellers can “lock” their iBuying offer while still listing their home on the market, and accept that offer later. Having these multiple options becomes a value proposition on its own, Boniakowski reiterates.
How does Opendoor reach consumers, and expand its recognition and trust to bring in more prospective sellers? Boniakowski doesn’t say if there are plans for any sort of active consumer outreach, only that partnering with agents will elevate the company’s offerings across the board, streamlining the instant offer process and building relationships.
More broadly, seeing Opendoor pivot from the much more revolutionary iBuying model to the tried-and-true referral business is likely to be seen by incumbents as evidence that real estate is still a face-to-face, boots-on-the-ground industry. From his perspective, Boniakowski says Opendoor is looking to work with anyone in the “diverse real estate brokerage ecosystem” with the new program.
But at the same time, Opendoor still believes that an instant cash offer is something that still matters and sets the company above competitors. Boniakowski says that so far, the company is seeing an increase in total conversions with the agent partnerships.
“It’s not just a marketing claim, we’re actually fulfilling (the cash offer). We actually have the ability to give that customer that option,” he says.
