Opendoor, the well-funded and market-leading iBuying startup, announced Tuesday that it has launched operations in the Salt Lake City, Utah, area.
Salt Lake, which sits at the base of the Rocky Mountains and among other things is known for hosting the Sundance Film Festival, represents Opendoor’s 21st market. Utah is also consistently ranked among the fastest-growing states and has an economy driven by a young and well-educated workforce.
In a statement announcing its Salt Lake City launch, Opendoor alluded to the region’s growth.
Sharon Brown
“We’re excited to introduce the convenience of the Opendoor selling experience to homeowners across the Salt Lake City metro area and become a meaningful part of this area’s dynamic and fast-growing housing market,” Sharon Brown, the company’s launch general manager, said in the statement.
The statement adds that Opendoor is now targeting Utah homes built after 1960 and priced between $150,000 and $500,000. That stated price range is a bit broader than what Opendoor typically buys in other cities, where average purchase prices tend to be in the mid $200,000 range. But it’s also clear that the company will continue focusing in Salt Lake on the same middle class tract homes that are its bread and butter elsewhere.
The company believes it’ll have its first wave of Salt Lake homes “relisted and available for homebuyers to easily self-tour on their own timeline next month.”
In an email, an Opendoor spokesperson further explained that the company will initially launch in 76 zip codes spread across the Salt Lake area. However, the company also envisions further local expansion in the future, which could see it enter the smaller-but-adjacent Ogden and Provo areas — the latter of which includes a booming technology corridor often dubbed “Silicon Slopes.”
A residential neighborhood in Salt Lake City | Credit: Mint Images and Getty Images
Opendoor launched in 2014 on the promise that it could make the homeselling process simpler and faster. Interested homesellers can visit the company’s website, fill out a short questionnaire and, if their home qualifies, receive what the company describes as “a competitive, all-cash offer within 24 hours.”
If they accept the offer, sellers then get to set their closing date.
Since launching, Opendoor has expanded rapidly from the iBuying epicenter in the Sunbelt and now operates in 11 states. The company has also raised $1.3 billion, much of it coming from Japanese mega-fund Softbank, to achieve a $3.8 billion valuation. Additionally, the firm has recently been expanding into other services and now offers home loans, as well as title and escrow services.
However, Opendoor’s rise has not gone unchallenged. Other dedicated iBuyers such as Offerpad are competing in the same space, and companies such as Zillow and Redfin are actively working to bolster their own iBuying offerings. Older industry stalwarts like Keller Williams have embarked on iBuying programs as well.
However, Opendoor’s consistent expansion into new markets such as Salt Lake City suggests that it could continue to dominate the conversation around iBuying.
