Why we do what we do: 10 years and counting

Ten years ago, Opendoor was founded on the premise that people should be able to sell and buy a home in a few clicks. We live in a world where we can order groceries, book flights, and hail rides, all from the convenience of our phone. But this convenience, this ease of use, does not exist for millions of people who move each year.

We’re working to change that. Opendoor has transformed the traditional selling and buying process into a few easy online steps. You can sell your home to us for a cash offer – no showings, no stagings, no making repairs, no uncertainty. We can help you shop for, tour, and buy your next home. And we can streamline your move-out or -in from start to finish. No double moves or the expense of a double mortgage as you try to line up a home sale and home purchase. More than 250,000 people in over 50 markets across the U.S. have saved countless hours of stress and hassle, and, more importantly, they've been able to enjoy the process of moving. Moving is often spurred by a big moment in life — a new baby, new job, new chapter. The last thing on your mind should be worrying about getting everyone out the door for a last-minute showing or the transaction falling through.

When her youngest daughter graduated from high school this year, Dee Ellington from Atlanta realized she was about to become an empty nester. "I knew I wanted to move, but wasn't sure I wanted to take on the burden of selling my home,” says Dee. “Thankfully, I found Opendoor. From start to finish the experience was easy, and gave me a lot of confidence in my decision. Now, the world is my oyster. I've been traveling, seeing my grandkids more, and figuring out the best place to retire. If it wasn't for Opendoor, I would've been stuck."

Customers like Dee are why we do what we do. We help people achieve their dreams with a modern consumer real estate experience – a unique experience we've created and continue to refine. With our hardworking and dedicated team around the world, proprietary software and pricing capabilities, state of the art machine learning, and scaled operations, today we power the largest e-commerce platform for residential real estate. Along the way, our team of believers has made others into believers. We partnered with homebuilders to introduce our trade-in product, another first-of-its-kind that now includes over 90 homebuilders nationwide and has unlocked more than $6 billion in transactions. We have also partnered with thousands of agents and the largest online real estate portals to empower more sellers to sell to Opendoor.

Ten years in, and we feel like we are just getting started. For as much as the real estate industry has evolved over the last decade, there is much more change to come. Our unique technology, operational capabilities and expertise enable us to serve not only our current addressable market of over $600 billion, but will also allow us to expand our coverage well beyond that in the years ahead. By staying true to our invent-and-refine roots, we will continue to build the most trusted e-commerce platform for residential real estate. We aim to be the first place everyone thinks of when selling or buying a home, and to make the home transaction as simple as the tap of a button.

Our decade in business reflects the hard work of so many people: our team, partners and customers. They have helped us reach this milestone, and will drive us forward into the next decade and beyond.

Happy 10th birthday, Opendoor!

Carrie Wheeler is the CEO of Opendoor.