Petition Circulated by Greg Hague of Real Estate Mavericks to Stop Zillow’s “Instant Offers” Program Gains Viral Momentum Among Consumers and Real Estate Professionals

New Zillow Program Damages Key Parties in Real Estate Transaction

PHOENIX--()--An online petition at www.stopzillow.com, created and circulated by Greg Hague, founder of Real Estate Mavericks, went viral last week, collecting more than 16,000 signatures in its first eight days. According to Google Analytics, the website has had more than 110,000 views.

The petition demands that the National Association of Realtors (NAR) warn Zillow to discontinue its newly launched Instant Offers program that robs homeowners of millions in equity that would instead flow into the pockets of Wall Street institutional investors.

Zillow is under pressure from shareholders to drive profit and stock value, notwithstanding its negative impact on unrepresented home sellers,” says Hague.

Hague observes that Zillow’s investors will snag below-market deals from homeowners who act under pressure without appraisals and advice from a local realtor who knows the market.

Currently piloted in Orlando, Florida and Las Vegas, Nevada, the program bypasses real estate professionals by providing an Instant Offers portal for homeowners to receive cash offers from a group of 15 large investors who then flip the home for a profit, according to Texas-based real estate insider and reporter Candy Evans in her recent story on her website, Candy’s Dirt.

Hague says, “My concern is that homeowners will unknowingly transfer tens of thousands of dollars of equity into the hands of profit-driven investors who don’t care about them. Zillow’s program backstabs realtors who built Zillow’s business by providing their listings free. But I wouldn’t be heading up the Stop Zillow movement if its new program wasn’t terrible for America’s homeowners.”

Homeowners who sell to investors through the Instant Offers program will pay a 8%-9% service charge, significantly more than a full service real estate commission.

The real estate industry has been Zillow’s biggest supporter,” notes Hague. “For the company to now take bread off the table of these professionals is an unconscionable knife in the back as well as an equity grab from the homeowners we serve.”

Hague vows that, once his petition reaches 100,000 signatures, he will hand carry it to NAR, urging the organization to take a public position demanding that Zillow discontinue the program or face reprisals from realtors across the nation who will use other online portals, like www.realtor.com, for their listings.

Zillow is an online home search portal that has used stockholder equity and realtor ad revenue to acquire key competitors like Trulia and RealEstate.com. While Zillow forecasts 2017 revenue at $1.04B, it has yet to show a profit.

For more information about or to sign the petition, please visit its site here; for an interview with Greg Hague, please see contact information below.

The Real Estate Maverick

American businessman and real estate expert, Greg Hague is widely known as “The Real Estate Maverick.” He initially became one of the top producing agents in the nation, built a start-up realty firm to 121 offices in six years, founded what quickly became one of the top luxury home brokerages in Arizona, and now trains real estate agents throughout the U.S., Australia, Puerto Rico and Canada on luxury home sale strategy. To learn more about Hague visit www.RealEstateMavericks.com or call 480-998-9900.

Contacts

SnappConner PR
Shannon R. Michael, 801.806.0150
shannon@snappconner.com

Release Summary

An online petition to shut down Zillow's Instant Offer program, launched by Greg Hague, founder of the Real Estate Maverick, has gone viral, garnering 110,000+ views and 13,000+ signatures in 8 days.

Contacts

SnappConner PR
Shannon R. Michael, 801.806.0150
shannon@snappconner.com