Realtor.com Lays Off Unspecified Number of Employees Amid Housing Market Downturn

Many Realtor.com employees are out of a job as the platform was forced to lay off staff pending the market downturn.

Last week, the company let go an undisclosed number of employees across most of its departments. Regular and contracted workers were affected by the job cuts. Realtor.com is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, with about 2,500 staff members in total. A spokesperson for the company refused to specify the intricate details of the dismissals, such as which department lost the most people. However, they did reveal that Realtor.com is offering a “generous” severance package, which includes career placement assistance and COBRA healthcare coverage.

In an email to employees, CEO David Doctorow admitted that while the company benefited from the recent market strengths, “slowing sales volume” has led the home listing website to unload a significant portion of its workforce.

“While we remain bullish on the long-term potential of what is a $200 billion addressable market, we must always take prudent steps to drive improved efficiency, including now,” Doctorow said in the email.

Though Realtor.com did maintain solid referrals despite lower transaction volume, its lead generations flopped, declining 39 percent from the previous year. Visitor traffic to the website and mobile app has also seen a steep decrease of 13 percent.

While the layoffs are unfortunate, they are not unexpected within the real estate industry. Factors such as increased interest rates, declining mortgage demands, inflation, and a decrease in pending sales have fueled mass terminations.

As the real estate industry braces for a possible recession, more individuals will likely lose their jobs in the forthcoming months.