It's going to be worth keeping an eye on secondary names in the Ibuying space given the momentum that is taking place in the sector, led by Zillow. Have discussed Zillow extensively here in 2019. Most recently in a note titled "Here Is The Bottomline With Zillow At This Point In Their Business Cycle." The basic premise of the piece was that the markets have gone from skepticism about Zillow fully transitioning their business model to Ibuying to complete acceptance and love for the move.
With that said, all Rich Barton has to do to keep the train moving is to continue gaining revenue momentum through the acquisition of homes. At the same time, their former bread and butter (Premier Agent) ad based business has to somewhat support the endeavor. In other words, the markets won't like Premier Agent revenue falling off a cliff.
This is phase 1 of the transition of Zillow. In the phases that are to come in the quarters and years ahead, Zillow's inventory of homes will reach such a critical mass that it won't allow management to simply boost the share price in the same way they are being allowed now. The massive inventory that is to come will eventually freak the market out to an extent, creating urgency for management to come up with a creative means of capitalizing on being one of the largest homeowners in the country. This is a when not if type of dilemma the company faces.
Where Zillow is currently within its overall business cycle, however, is the sweet spot. Their inventory of homes isn't scary yet. Their revenue growth can increase at a nice clip given the early nature of the concept. Competition hasn't yet figured out how to compete effectively with the 800 pound gorilla in the space. All good for now.
Bringing us to Redfin. Today RDFN announced a partnership with the largest Ibuyer - Opendoor, which is undoubtedly an urgent response by both companies to Zillow's increasing momentum. While RDFN has a lot of catching up to do to ever reach Zillow's dominance in the space, the primary question from an investor perspective should be whether RDFN has enough going for it to ride Zillow's wave higher over the intermediate to long-term?
Today's move by RDFN partnering with Opendoor is an official embrace of the Ibuying model by the CEO of the company who has expressed some skepticism about the business model of purchasing and selling homes in the recent past, mostly because of the balance sheet risk. This is notable given his experience and voice in the space.
With a total addressable market in the trillions of dollars, there is a high likelihood that there will be multiple players in the space once the model gains widespread acceptance and geographic penetration.
Bringing us to why RDFN may be a short to intermediate term buy based on how wide the ratio of price has gotten between Zillow and Redfin. Either Zillow has gone too fast, too far OR Redfin has some catching up to do. Should Zillow's management continue executing, the former probably isn't the case. The latter, however, has some merit.
While not declaring RDFN an outright buy with a sky-high price target, the situation is certainly worthy of being on the radar of every investor who enjoys collecting quarters instead of pennies or nickles.
Zenolytics now offers Turning Points and ETF Pro premium service Click here for details.
Disclaimer
This website is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a complete description of our investment advisory services. No information contained on this website constitutes investment advice.
This website should not be considered a solicitation, offer or recommendation for the purchase or sale of any securities or other financial products and services discussed herein. Viewers of this website will not be considered clients of T11 Capital Management LLC just by virtue of access to this website.
T11 Capital Management LLC only conducts business in jurisdictions where licensed, registered, or where an applicable registration exemption or exclusion exists. Information contained herein is not intended for persons in any jurisdiction where such distribution or use would be contrary to the laws or regulations of that jurisdiction, or which would subject T11 Capital Management LLC to any unintended registration requirements. Visitors to this site should not construe any discussion or information contained herein as personalized advice from T11 Capital Management LLC. Visitors should discuss the personal applicability of the specific products, services, strategies, or issues posted herein with a professional advisor of his or her choosing.
Information throughout this site, whether stock quotes, charts, articles, or any other statement or statements regarding capital markets or other financial information, is obtained from sources which we, and our suppliers believe reliable, but we do not warrant or guarantee the timeliness or accuracy of this information. Neither our information providers nor we shall be liable for any errors or inaccuracies, regardless of cause, or the lack of timeliness of, or for any delay or interruption in, the transmission thereof to the user. With respect to information regarding financial performance, nothing on this website should be interpreted as a statement or implication that past results are an indication of future performance.
