CE Web webscrape data provides deep and accurate analysis of the iBuying businesses of real estate websites like OPAD, OPEN, and ZG.  In today’s Insight Flash, we show how our new CE Web CE-Q dashboards help users get to insights from the data more quickly, specifically seeing which metrics are growing fastest for OPAD, OPEN, and ZG as well as diving further into how the ratio of resale value to acquired value is trending and what inventory trajectories may say about future growth.

Our CE-Q Discover dashboard allows users to sort all CE Web tickers by which metrics are accelerating the fastest.  In the last 35 days, the fastest acceleration across our entire coverage universe has been in several tracked metrics for OPEN and ZG.  Specifically, the value of homes sold (which we match with government records to confirm the sale has closed), has grown dramatically for both companies.  OPAD growth has lagged, but is still well into triple-digit positive territory. For all three companies, the acquisition value of those homes has kept pace.

Discover Fastest Growth

Note:  iBuying businesses only; totals include new market entry 

So, further investigation is needed to understand whether these companies are succeeding in growing the differential between what the homes were acquired at and what the realtors are turning around and selling them for.  Since the beginning of 2020, OPAD has held the lead in the ratio of sold value to acquisition value, implying stronger gains from resales.  OPEN was outpacing ZG for much of that period, but the gap narrowed to parity in August and September as both companies saw a decline. 

Discover Fastest Growth

Note:  iBuying businesses only; total growth including new market entry 

How much can the growth story continue?  A big advantage of our CE Web data suite is that it provides inventory information for most tracked companies.  That inventory can be a leading indicator of future sales.  All three realtors have been showing strong inventory growth in recent months looking at added value compared to January 2020 levels.  But ZG took the lead in July, outpacing rivals through the remainder of the summer.  

Added Value

Note: iBuying businesses only; total growth including new market entry