Top 6 iBuyer Companies in 2021

iBuyers offer an alternative to the traditional home selling process. These companies pay cash to sellers and enable them to close at a date that’s convenient for them.

With iBuyers, there are no home showings, and no repairs, so sellers don’t have to invest as much time or cash upfront. But, the tradeoff of working with an iBuyer is often that sellers often accept a lower price for their home. 

Sales to iBuyers make up a small portion of the total real estate market. In fact, the number of iBuyer transactions fell dramatically in 2020, down 60% from just under 60,000 transactions in 2019.

Sellers considering working with iBuyer companies will find a number of different options, but these are the top six iBuyer platforms offering this streamlined purchasing experience.

^{* Knock and Orchard are mainly focused on providing home trade-in services, which let you buy a new home before you sell your old home.}

Top 6 iBuyers

Opendoor 

Opendoor is one of the largest and most established iBuyers. The company accounted for 64% of all iBuyer transactions in 2019 and 50% in 2020.

One of the Opendoor’s key draws is their remarkably low service fee. As of September 2020, they capped their fee at 5%, which is lower than the typical realtor fee of 6%.

Where Opendoor Buys Homes

There are 23 markets where Opendoor is currently buying homes:

How Opendoor Works

You can submit your home address to Opendoor and receive an instant offer. You’ll then schedule a free virtual assessment and receive information on any required repairs within five to seven days.

If repairs are required, you’ll have the option to cancel your contract. Repairs will be completed after you move out, so you won’t have to worry about them

Read our full review of Opendoor.

Offerpad

While Offerpad can’t compete with Opendoor’s low fees or Zillow Offers’ wide-availability, it does offer add-on services — such as free local moving services — that sets it apart.

Where Offerpad Buy Houses

How Offerpad Works

Offerpad, like Opendoor, offers you the option to list with the brokerage firm and try to sell on the open market or to accept an up-front offer. If you choose the first option, you’ll have an offer in your back pocket when you list.

If you chose the iBuyer option, you’ll get an offer within 24 hours and can select your closing date. Offerpad also a free local move, as well as an extended stay option to remain in your home for up to three days.

Offerpad charges a service fee of 6-10%, which is comparable to other iBuyers.

Read our full review of Offerpad.

Zillow Offers

Although their fees are relatively high, Zillow Offers’ wide availability makes it worth considering if you’re selling a home in one of their markets.

Where Zillow Offers Buys Houses

Zillow Offers is available in 25 metro areas, which currently leads all iBuyers:

How Zillow Offers Works

When you request an offer, Zillow Offers gets back to you within one to three days with an estimated price. If the initial offer seems attractive, Zillow schedules an estimator to visit your home to determine if any repairs are needed. Repairs are deducted from the price, so you’ll get your final offer after the estimator visits. 

Once you’ve agreed to accept Zillow’s offer, you’ll be able to schedule a flexible closing date within seven to 90 days. You’ll receive a cash payment without ever having to go through any showings or pay out of pocket for repairs.

With Zillow Offers, there’s no cancellation fees assessed and no obligation if you decide not to accept the offer. If you do accept, you’ll pay a fee to Zillow that’s between 1.5% and 7.9% plus a 6% selling fee. 

Read our full review of Zillow Offers.

RedfinNow 

If you own a home valued at over $500,000 then RedfinNow might be your best option among iBuyers.

Unlike other iBuyers, properties valued at up to $1.5 million — in some markets — are eligible for RedfinNow. Part of the reason for this is that RedfinNow operates in a number of west-coast cities that are known for high real estate prices, such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle.

Where RedfinNow Buys Homes

RedfinNow purchases single-family homes, townhouses, and condos in the following markets:

How RedfinNow Works

When you sell to RedfinNow, you can request a cash offer online and receive it within a few days. You’ll get a final offer after a simple visit from RedfinNow to assess what repair costs must  be deducted from the price. 

There’s no cancellation fee if you don’t sign the repair addendum following the inspection. And you can select your closing, although you must pick a time within 10 to 30 days. This is less flexible than some competitors. Like with other iBuyer programs, there’s a cost, though. You’ll pay service fees between 6% to 12%.

Read our full review of RedfinNow. 

Orchard 

Orchard is not technically an iBuyer. Instead, they offer a Move First program to help you purchase a new home before selling your current one.

Where Orchard Is Available

Orchard’s Move First service is available for eligible homes in the following metros:

How Orchard Works

With MoveFirst, Orchard conducts an assessment of your home to determine the amount of equity you can access prior to selling. 

With Orchard, you’ll receive as much as 90% of your home’s value up front. That makes it possible to make a non-contingent offer on the home you’re purchasing. Orchard then prepares your home to list, sells it for you, and you get to keep any money above the instant equity amount — minus Orchard’s 6% fee.

If your home doesn’t sell within 90 to 120 days, you’ll get to keep the amount of instant equity you received. However, Orchard will not buy your home. 

Knock 

Knock is a home swap company, as well as a type of iBuyer. They help you buy a new home before selling your old one.

Where Knock Is Available

Knock operates in the following markets:

How Knock Works

With Home Swap™ by Knock, you can qualify for a home loan that includes an advance for your down payment. And they’ll also provide an interest-free loan of up to $25,000 to make repairs to your current property. 

Knock covers your mortgage on your old home once you’ve moved into your new one. And when your home sells, you pay Knock back, including for the mortgage payments they made and money advanced for repairs. 

Knock enables you to avoid paying two mortgage payments at once, although ultimately you do pay both mortgages. And if your home doesn’t sell on the open market, you can take an upfront offer Knock provided.

Read our full review of Knock.

What You Need to Know About iBuyers

iBuyers are Internet companies that purchase your home for cash. They are a modern alternative to traditional investors that buy and resell properties.

There are a number of iBuyer platforms, most of which promise you the ability to close on your property on your schedule — often within a short period of time. 

How Do iBuyers Make Money?

iBuyers make money in three different ways:

• Fees: Most charge you a percentage of the value of your home when they purchase your property. 
• Home appreciation: iBuyers aim to resell your home for more than they paid for it. They do this by concentrating their purchasing efforts in real estate markets where properties go up in value quickly. 
• Selling leads: Some iBuyers will sell your contact details when you request an offer from them. For example, Zillow Offers sells user data to local real estate agents, who will then be able to contact you about selling your home. 

Pros and Cons of Selling to an iBuyer

Here are some of the biggest advantages and disadvantages of selling to an iBuyer

Pros

• Fast sales: You can close within a matter of days in many cases. 
• No out-of-pocket costs: You don’t have to pay to make repairs before listing your home. 
• No showings: You won’t have strangers coming through your home, nor will you have to keep your home clean and ready for visitors at a moment’s notice. 
• No concerns about a deal falling through: You don’t have to worry about a buyer not being able to get financing or a home not appraising for enough and the deal falling through. 
• You can reduce transition costs: You won’t have to worry about carrying two homes for a period of time, or about renting a place to live if you sell your home before your new one is ready. 

Cons

• High fees compared to listing with an agent: With some iBuyers, you’ll pay a much larger fee than you would if you listed with an agent (especially an agent working with a discount brokerage).
• Lower offers: In most cases, you’ll receive less money for your property than you would if you found a traditional buyer. After all, an iBuyer’s goal is to make a profit.
• Less ability to negotiate over repairs: Many iBuyers require you to use their repair services to complete any necessary fixes that they discover are required during an inspection.  

If you’re interested in selling your home at an affordable cost and the disadvantages of an iBuyer appear to outweigh the advantages for you, a discount brokerage firm may be the answer. We’ve partnered with Clever, who can match you with a full-service agent who will list your home for just $3,000 or 1% of its value.

Related Reading

If you’re interested in more information about iBuyers or selling your home quickly, we recommend that you check out the following resources.

Four Ways to Sell Your House Fast: According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) it takes just under a month to get property under contract once you list it for sale on average. After that, it could take several more weeks to actually close. If that timeline isn’t quick enough for you, read our guide for tips on how to sell fast.

What Is an iBuyer?: iBuyers offer cash payment on a lightning-fast timeline and present a modern, hi-tech image straight out of Silicon Valley. So are they all they’re cracked up to be, or are they too good to be true? Read our guide for more info on what defines an iBuyer, and how they’re leveraging the latest tech to reshape the real estate industry.

We Buy Houses For Cash Companies: Incredible Deal or Predatory Scam?: “We Buy Houses for Cash” is simply a brand of cash buyer. Cash buyers are individual investors or smaller independently operated franchises of a larger parent company, who pay cash for “not ready for market” properties.