Opendoor expands agent partnership program amid slumping business

The stagnant housing market makes life hard for every company in the real estate industry, but it arguably hits iBuyers the hardest.

Since the end of the pandemic housing boom, the algorithmically powered home flippers have struggled to turn a profit and initiated repeated rounds of layoffs in an attempt to generate long-term cash savings.

But the OG iBuyer Opendoor is expanding its agent partnership program in a move it believes can provide incremental income around its core iBuying business. Dubbed Key Connections, Opendoor will pair real estate agents invited to the program with a homeseller and provide options for them beyond accepting the company’s all-cash offer.

“We attract thousands of sellers who are interested in getting our cash offer,” said Nick Boniakowski, Opendoor’s Head of Agent Partnerships. “But a cash offer may not be the right fit for them, and meeting that seller driving this program Key Connections, allows us to increase conversion for those sellers by meeting them early and presenting them with more options.”

Opendoor already partners with real estate agents who bring home sellers to the company to receive a cash offer. With Key Connections, that program is expanded, and Opendoor sends leads to the agents, who then walk clients through the home-selling process as they would any lead.

Opendoor take a portion of the compensation from the listing agent, but the arrangement does not impact the listing agent’s compensation with their brokerage.

Boniakowski says agents are incentivized whether the seller chooses a cash offer or not. Opendoor launched a pilot program for Key Connections in two markets in February, and a survey of agents shows that 74% of respondents would be willing to take a lower commission rate for a steady flow of customers.

Capturing revenue is vital

Capturing some incremental revenue around its core business of iBuying is much needed, as both Opendoor and its competitor Offerpad are struggling mightily. The stocks of both companies have fallen below $1, with Opendoor hovering around $0.50 on Monday.

Both companies have slowed the pace of home purchases since the pandemic housing boom. Opendoor had 8,158 homes under contract to purchase in the second quarter of 2021. In the first quarter of 2025, it had 1,051.

Its revenue is also cratering. It peaked in the first quarter of 2021 at $5.15 billion and has since fallen to $1.15 billion. Multiple rounds of layoffs have followed, with Opendoor reducing its workforce 7% in 2022, by 22% in April 2023 and by 17% in November. An additional 40 employees were laid off earlier this month, and 70 were reassigned.

Key Connections isn’t the first time Opendoor has tried to add other lines of business. The company currently provides listing services, title and renovation. It has since opened and shuttered both a brokerage service and mortgage lending division.

Key Connections launches nationwide today in the following markets: Colorado Springs, Columbus, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Portland, Riverside, Sacramento, San Diego and Tucson.