CHARLOTTE – The latest entrant into the Charlotte real estate market is internet buyer Zillow Offers, and starting today, home sellers in the Queen City can request an all-cash offer from Zillow to purchase their home.

The company announced their intentions to open in the Charlotte market in October and plans to open in the Triangle later this winter.
Charlotte is the fifth local real estate market where Zillow Offers will be available, joining Phoenix, Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Denver.
“We couldn’t be more excited to bring Zillow Offers to our first North Carolina market today,” said Jeremy Wacksman, Zillow Brand President, in a statement.  Home sellers can request a free, no-obligation cash offer, and if accepted, the seller can pick the closing date that will work best for them, said the company.

According to the latest research from Zillow, 61 percent of sellers are also buying a new home at the same time as closing on their current home, adding a level of uncertainty and financial complexity to the home buying and selling process.

“Selling a home can be extremely stressful,” said Wacksman. “It’s one of the largest financial transactions many people will make in their lifetime.  Zillow Offers alleviates some of that stress and uncertainty so home sellers can move onto the next stage of their life.”

Zillow is partnering with The Redbud Group at Keller Williams SouthPark, who will represent the company in all of their Charlotte-area real estate transactions.  According to the company, in every market Zillow pays a commission to local real estate agents when it buys or sells each home.

Four additional Charlotte area real estate brokerages will receive referrals from Zillow should home sellers elect to sell their house traditionally with a local agent.

The company has tapped Jeff Gibel as the general manager for Zillow Offer’s operations in Charlotte.  Gibel is a real estate veteran with 18 years of experience in brokerage, lending, valuation, and management, and most recently served as the vice president of acquisitions for an alternative asset management firm where he oversaw the acquisition and renovation of thousands of homes in the Carolinas, Tennessee, Florida, and Georgia.

Raleigh up next for Zillow Offers

“We’re really excited about launching in Charlotte and Raleigh,” said Jordyn Lee, a spokesperson for Zillow.  “When we started this program in April, we aimed to go into markets that have plenty of homes around the median home value.”

According to the latest research, the median home value nationwide is $221,500.  In the Queen City, the median is $201,700 and in the Raleigh-Cary metropolitan service area, the median is $259,900.  The company sought to enter healthy local real estate markets, said Lee.

“Charlotte and Raleigh have both of those attributes,” he noted.