The real estate market should continue to experience strong demand in 2022. With that in mind, today I'll analyze and compare Redfin Corporation (NASDAQ:RDFN) and Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) (Z) to see which is the better buy now.The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated demand in the housing market due to low interest rates and the Fed's stimulus. Even with reducing economic stimulus, the real estate industry should continue to experience strong demand amid a shortage in supply. The U.S. has a shortage of 5.24 million homes, according to research from Realtor.com. The industry’s high demand is evidenced by the iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF (IYR) 29.5% gain year-to-date.
With that in mind, today I’m going to analyze and compare Redfin Corporation (RDFN) and Zillow Group, Inc. (Z). Founded in 2002, RedFin provides real estate brokerage services in the U.S. and Canada. In addition, the company operates an online real estate marketplace, allowing it to charge lower listing and commission fees due to the economies of scale. This direction towards digitalization has stimulated the company to grow substantially over the past five years.
Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Zillow operates as a digital real estate company, offering real estate brands on mobile apps and websites in the U.S. It operates across three different segments: Homes, Internet, Media & Technology, and Mortgages.