Facebook will make its big announcement today. While we wait, I ran into a fascinating article about the suboptimal performance of Zillow’s real estate frontrunning strategy. In short, they are buying up thousands of homes each month with the goal of flipping them or renting them out. This makes sense because they can act on a listing the moment it is listed, while we have to wait to learn about it from a notification or a search. If the price is right, Zillow can beat its users to the sale. Interestingly, the AI-based investment strategy is not performing. Said differently, they are losing money. I am not surprised that Zillow is competing with its customers. Are you?
Author’s note: This is not a sponsored post. I am the author of this article and it expresses my own opinions. I am not, nor is my company, receiving compensation for it.
About Shelly Palmer
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with AI strategy, implementation and governance, as well as technology, media and marketing. Named one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices in Technology, he is a bestselling author, covers tech and business for Fox 5’s Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN, and writes the popular daily business blog Think About This. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.