From the first half:
” Opendoor Starts Flipping Homes in NYC Suburbs as It Hunts Growth
Opendoor Technologies Inc., which pioneered a tech-powered spin on flipping homes, is expanding into the hot suburban housing markets outside New York City as it pursues growth in more expensive neighborhoods.
The company, the largest of the so-called iBuyers, will begin buying and selling homes across Long Island, Westchester and several counties in New Jersey, according to a statement Tuesday. There are more than 4 million housing units in these areas and Opendoor will target properties between $300,000 and $950,000.
Opendoor buys homes, makes repairs and lists them for sale, relying on its technology to determine how much a property is worth. It got its start in the cookie-cutter subdivisions outside Sunbelt cities such as Phoenix and Dallas. The houses in the New York suburbs are older and more varied, creating potential challenges for a company that is buying and selling thousands of properties a month.
“In New York and New Jersey, it’s a much more difficult problem to solve,” said Ian Wong, the company’s chief technology officer. “Our goal is to serve as many customers as we can. Ultimately, our goal is to serve everybody.” ..