Can Opendoor's Expanding D2C Funnel Drive a Capital-Light Strategy?

Opendoor Technologies Inc. OPEN is expanding its direct-to-consumer (D2C) funnel as part of a shift toward a model that relies less on holding large volumes of homes. The company is reopening direct seller pathways that were previously shut down and positioning D2C activity as a core element of a future capital-light strategy. The focus is on creating a smoother path for buyers and sellers to transact on the platform without the company needing to own every home involved in the process. 

In the third quarter of 2025, the company highlighted that customers choosing to sell directly represented more than 20% of total homes assessed. In a mid-October test covering more thaqn 2,000 new accounts, the unoptimized D2C funnel converted six times better than the non-D2C version. This early traction suggests that the company’s direct channel may attract higher-intent sellers and improve conversion efficiency as volumes scale. 

The company also reactivated D2C flows across the platform and introduced features that support faster transactions, including the ability for buyers to use USDC as a payment method. These steps broaden customer choice and reduce friction within the transaction, a necessary foundation for a model that relies more on platform activity than on inventory. 

As the company works to improve unit economics, the plan is to shift emphasis from building distribution channels to enabling direct transactions between buyers and sellers. Opendoor also plans to reduce days in possession instead of widening spreads, which previously created negative outcomes. Together, these moves support a longer-term goal of allowing more customers to transact on Opendoor without it holding every asset, a key requirement for a capital-light approach.

Comparing Opendoor’s Shift With Competing Housing Models

Opendoor expands its D2C funnel to support a future capital-light strategy, two U.S.-listed peers stand out in the broader housing landscape: Offerpad Solutions, Inc. OPAD and LGI Homes, Inc. LGIH.

Offerpad mirrors Opendoor’s core iBuying model — acquiring homes directly from sellers and then preparing and reselling them. This makes OPAD the most direct operational competitor to Opendoor. Offerpad’s approach to turn-time compression, pricing discipline and inventory risk provides a yardstick for Opendoor’s transformation.

LGI Homes, while primarily a builder rather than a pure iBuyer, competes in adjacent segments of the residential ecosystem — particularly in using technology and automation to bring homes to market faster and at lower cost. The company’s tech-enabled home-construction model pressures Opendoor to deepen its automation from acquisitions into renovations and resale logistics.

In summary, Opendoor’s fight is most head-to-head with Offerpad in the instant buy/resell model, while LGI Homes represents an adjacent automation-enabled competitor that shows how efficiency matters across the housing value chain.

OPEN Stock's Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Shares of Opendoor have surged 1047.9% over the past six months, outperforming the industry’s 2% decline.

OPEN’s 6-Month Price Performance

From a valuation standpoint, OPEN trades at a forward price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of 1.23X, significantly below the industry’s average of 4.77X.

OPEN Stock’s Valuation

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for OPEN’s 2025 loss per share has narrowed to 23 cents in the past 30 days. Also, the estimated figure indicates a narrower loss from the year-ago loss of 37 cents per share. 

OPEN stock currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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