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Against significant market headwinds, Opendoor managed to trim losses in the first quarter of the year, despite seeing a modest drop in revenue, according to earnings data released Tuesday.
In total, the iBuyer brought in $1.2 billion in revenue between January and March, according to a newly published earnings report. That’s a dip of 2 percent compared to the same period in 2024.
The company also lost $85 million during the quarter. However, that figure is an improvement over the $109 million Opendoor lost during the first three months of 2024.
Carrie Wheeler | Opendoor CEO
In the report, CEO Carrie Wheeler said the first quarter results “reflect disciplined execution” on a “plan to drive toward profitability while strengthening our product experience and platform.”
“At the same time, we are investing in our future — evolving Opendoor into a broader selling platform, one that gives every homeowner more choice — whether that’s a cash offer or listing with a trusted agent,” she added.
Tuesday’s report also showed that Opendoor is holding a growing portfolio of homes. The company specifically bought 3,609 houses between January and March, which is up 4 percent year over year. At the same time, the iBuyer ended the quarter with 1,051 homes under contract, which is down 60 percent.
The result of these numbers is that Opendoor had an inventory of 7,080 homes — a year-over-year increase of 24 percent.
During a call with analysts Tuesday afternoon, Wheeler said the company is positioned “for long-term success,” though she added that there is currently an “extremely challenging macroeconomic environment.” Wheeler cited rising rates, tariffs and other factors that have prompted housing consumers to take “a pause.”
Heading into Tuesday’s earnings, shares in Opendoor were hovering around an all-time low price in the low $0.70 range. That was down for the day, but more significantly, it’s also well below the $1 threshold above which companies have to stay or risk getting booted from the stock market. Opendoor shares first fell below $1 just over a month ago and have continued losing value ever since.
Opendoor shares fluctuated, but generally rose, Tuesday in after hours trading following the publication of the company’s earnings report.
Credit: Google
Opendoor — which had a market cap of about $524.5 million as of Tuesday afternoon — is not unique in facing investor skepticism. Fellow iBuyer Offerpad has also seen shares shed significant value in recent days, and it too faces the threat of delisting.
Offerpad reported earnings on Monday, revealing among other things that both revenue and sales were down. The company’s struggles may have weighed on investors’ minds and helped push down Opendoor shares Tuesday as well.
Either way, both companies are contending with a market that makes it extremely challenging to flip homes. During the pandemic years, rising home prices theoretically made it easier for flippers — including at the institutional level — to turn a profit after buying and renovating homes. However, as rates rose in recent years and home price growth slowed considerably, it became much more difficult to turn a profit using the iBuyer model.
Those conditions have prompted the iBuyers to develop a variety of asset-light offerings and have weighed on balance sheets. In the final quarter of 2024, for example, Opendoor reported that it managed to increase revenue year over year, but also that its losses rose.
During Tuesday’s analyst call, Wheeler emphasized the importance of real estate agents to Opendoor’s business, saying that a “meaningful percentage of our acquisitions come to us” via referrals from industry professionals. Wheeler also said that Opendoor is “evolving into a platform where every seller can explore all their selling options,” and that consumers benefit from having an agent help them navigate those options.
Opendoor is also piloting a program in which it sends referrals to agents. Wheeler said the program, which is being tested in 11 markets, “allows us to drive more asset-light revenue” and increase conversions.
Update: This story was updated after publication with additional details from Opendoor’s earnings report and commentary from the company’s analyst call.
