CNN BUSINESS | Zillow will now make cash offers for homes based on its ‘Zestimates’

New York (CNN Business)  – Zillow is no longer just an online platform for browsing available homes or for creeping on the value of your neighbor’s house. In recent years, the company has also begun actually buying, fixing up and selling homes itself through a new division called Zillow Offers — a major shift in its business model.

On Thursday, the company announced a new feature aimed at streamlining the process for homeowners considering selling to Zillow.

For certain homes, Zillow’s “Zestimate” — the online estimate of the home’s value — will now represent an initial cash offer from the company to buy the property. That could mean an even quicker timeline for homeowners looking to close a sale without going through the hassle of a formal listing, or a source of helpful data for would-be sellers who want to know how much money they’ll have to buy their next house.  –read more—