FTC Investigating Opendoor for Its Advertising Practices

In accordance to Opendoor docs, the FTC sent a civil investigative need connected to “statements pertaining to Opendoor’s offers reflecting or currently being based mostly on marketplace selling prices.”

NEW YORK – New corporate filings disclosed that Opendoor, an iBuying giant, is currently being investigated by the Federal Trade Fee (FTC) more than its marketing techniques and how it provides genuine estate choices to buyers.

The investigation was contained in Opendoor’s S-4 statement, which disclosed that it would be heading general public by a merger with Social Cash Hedosophia Holdings Corp. II. That federal submitting also disclosed a 2019 civil investigative need.

The submitting states: “In August 2019, the FTC sent a civil investigative need to Opendoor seeking files and information relating generally to statements in the company’s marketing and web page evaluating Opendoor’s offers to obtain houses to promoting in a standard way utilizing an agent and statements pertaining to Opendoor’s offers reflecting or currently being based mostly on marketplace selling prices.”

The investigation is ongoing, in accordance to the S-4 statement.

In mid-September, Opendoor declared that it would turn out to be a general public company by a merger with Social Cash Hedosophia Holdings Corp. II. “This is just one of quite a few milestones to our mission and will support us speed up the path to creating the electronic just one-cease shop to move,” Eric Wu, co-founder and CEO of Opendoor, instructed TechCrunch at the time.

Opendoor makes fast hard cash offers to dwelling sellers who wish to bypass the standard route for promoting, normally for the sake of a more quickly sale. Homeowners are likely to pay extra in commission for the convenience.

As the COVID-19 outbreak strike in the U.S. this spring, Opendoor, like quite a few other iBuyers, paused functions. At the time, Opendoor declared plans to lay off 35% of its staff as a cooling housing marketplace threatened the iBuying design.

Nonetheless, the housing marketplace arrived roaring again as states commenced to reopen, prompting Opendoor and other iBuyers to reemerge, in component due to the fact iBuyers can normally comprehensive transactions socially distanced. Opendoor resumed its fast hard cash offers in its 21 markets by mid-August.

“We are just scratching the surface area these days,” Opendoor stated in its submitting, as reported by HousingWire. “We consider we have a large prospect to develop our achieve to the top rated 100 markets in the United States.”

Opendoor sold extra than 8,000 houses very last yr and produced $4.7 billion in income, in accordance to the company.

Profitability, on the other hand, carries on to be a struggle for iBuyer enterprises. From January by June of this yr, Opendoor posted a internet decline of $118 million.

Supply: “Opendoor Discloses That It’s Underneath Federal Investigation,” HousingWire (Oct. six, 2020)

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