Shares of Seattle-based Zillow, an online real estate company, sank more than 22% on Wednesday, the day after the company announced it would lay off 25% of its staff and close the home-flipping division of its business.
Shares closed at $65.86 Wednesday afternoon. At the end of last week, Zillow was trading higher than $100. In February, shares briefly traded higher than $200.
In its quarterly earnings call on Tuesday, CEO Rich Barton cited price volatility and an inability "to accurately forecast future home prices at different times in both directions" as core reasons for shuttering Zillow Offers, the home-flipping division.
He said the workforce reduction will happen "over the next few quarters," but did not give any details around how many staff in Seattle would be let go.
Zillow's Seattle-based rival Redfin, which also got into the home-flipping business a few years ago, is expected to announce its quarterly earnings Thursday afternoon.
