Amazon teases expansion into real estate

Amazon may be getting into the real estate business.

Real estate news website Inman reported that on Tuesday, while Amazon Prime Day was in full swing, the e-commerce behemoth quietly debuted a new “Hire a Realtor” page under the Home and Business Services section that featured a field in which to enter a ZIP code followed by a “Coming soon” message.

The page appeared to tease a service that would allow consumers to hire a real estate agent through Amazon.

But by Wednesday afternoon, the page had been taken down.

This “preview” prompted investors to speculate that the company was seeking to take a bite out of online real estate databases like Zillow and Redfin’s marketshare. Once the news surfaced, Zillow’s stock price slumped, according to GeekWire, indicating just how closely investors are watching for Amazon’s next big move.

Could this mean that consumers will soon be able to command Alexa to find them a house, as a The Real Deal headline joked?

Coincidentally, all three companies—Amazon, Zillow, and Redfin—are based in Seattle.

Via: Inman, GeekWire, The Real Deal