[leothelocust]

I get the feeling a company like this would only make this kind of leap because they have the data to show it will pay off. I.e. they can formulate algorithms to make the best purchases and the most profit. I foresee big gains from this

[yodon]

It’s rarely a good idea to compete against your customers

[superquest]

In this case it seems the customers are unlikely to revolt. Most won't even notice, right?

[caminante]

Great point. For now, it is limited to AZ and NV and for wholesale purchases only. But it seems like a conflict of interest that's hard to prove isn't being abused.

[malloci]

Isn't Amazon's marketplace similar in that regard? They compete with other sellers using Amazon's platform all the time.

Ethically, it seems a bit fuzzy for me given that one of Zillow's big features is there zEstimate. How can they demonstrably prove they aren't tweaking that somehow for their own gain?

[jacobkranz]

I'd argue that Amazon's customers are the buyers of the products, not the sellers using Amazon's platform.

[bunderbunder]

I'd argue that Amazon has many different groups of customers.

[AznHisoka]

Why? BlackRock offers solutions to other asset management firms to make investment decisions. They use the same solution in their asset management division.

[caminante]

Isn't there a firewall between the units?

[smt88]

Zillow has captured the user base so effectively that the customers will have no choice but to continue paying.

See also: Amazon

[paxys]

Every big company does this in some way. The only smart move in business is to be where the money is.

[maxerickson]

A testable prediction at least.

I wouldn't be surprised if they make a bunch of money and then make a big mistake and lose a much bigger bunch of money.

[notyourwork]

This was my thinking as well, they can decide what they want to buy based on their data on prior listings and closing prices. It is an interesting advantage.

[kelukelugames]

But how is this scalable? You need manual labor. This is a bigger headache than hiring agents as full time employees like Redfin.