Opendoor goes nationwide

Opendoor, an online marketplace that buys homes directly from homeowners, is about to go nationwide.

In the last few years, Opendoor has been raising money hand over fist and growing by leaps and bounds.

Just two months ago, the company, which buys homes directly from sellers, makes the necessary repairs and improvements, then sells the houses, raised $325 million in its Series E funding round.

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That came just 18 months after the company raised $210 million in its Series D round of funding.

When the company completed its Series E funding back in June, Opendoor said that it planned a nationwide expansion and set an audacious goal of being in 50 total markets by the end of 2020.

Opendoor first began buying and selling houses in Phoenix and Dallas-Fort Worth in 2014, and is now operating in 10 markets, including Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas-Fort Worth, Las Vegas, Nashville, Orlando, Phoenix, Raleigh-Durham, Tampa, and San Antonio.

Now, the company is ready to put its money where its mouth is, as the company told HousingWire that it plans to expand into California, the Pacific Northwest, and several other areas over the next few months.

According to information provided by the company, Opendoor’s next market expansions will be in Sacramento, California; Riverside, California; Denver, Colorado; Portland, Oregon; Austin, Texas; and Jacksonville, Florida.

The company said that by expanding into those markets, it will be able to reach approximately 15% of the total population of the U.S.

Beyond this expansion, Opendoor recently made a move into mortgages and expanded a program that ties the company to homebuilders. In the “trade in” program, a homeowner sells their home to Opendoor and buys a newly built home from Lennar or another homebuilder, all in one transaction.

Further evidence of Opendoor’s growth comes from a look at its total headcount. According to the company, the company began 2018 with 400 employees in six markets.

Now, in the eight months since then, the company has more than doubled its headcount and currently has 825 employees. And it plans to grow to 1,000 employees by the end of year.

All in all, the company plans to grow by 600 employees and add 12 new markets in one year, with big plans beyond that.