Company News
Opendoor expands to Portland, its first market in the Pacific Northwest
Reading Time — 4 minutes
February 15, 2019
By Kelsey Pfeffer
Reading Time — 4 minutes
February 15, 2019
Just in time for Valentine’s season, Opendoor is now live in the City of Roses! Portland is the very first metro Opendoor has expanded into in the Pacific Northwest, and we’re excited to bring a simple, stress-free experience to local home buyers and sellers.
Let’s find out more about what local residents are loving about Opendoor and learn about the most unique home the team has come across in Portland so far from Opendoor General Manager Joe Denother.
Q. Why is Opendoor a great fit for Portland?
A: Portland is home to some pretty appealing attractions including many great cuisines, accessible outdoor activities, and microbreweries on every corner. People want to live here because of the jobs, the weather and so much more. With so many great activities to do around Portland, who would want to spend valuable time working through the traditional process of selling or buying a home when they could be having fun elsewhere?
Opendoor is the perfect solution to simplify real estate transactions and free up local residents time to do what they love. We’re the first service of our kind to come to the Portland market, and local residents are really loving it – our houses have been selling like hotcakes!
Q. What was the most surprising thing you noticed when joining Opendoor?
A: Employees at Opendoor are truly customer obsessed. They have a pulse on what buyers and sellers want like I’ve never seen before, and tirelessly work to improve the customer experience.
Joe Denother, Opendoor’s General Manager in Portland.
The teams are extremely data-driven and focused on truly accurate pricing, and they always take actions to ensure our customers are being supported and valued throughout their home selling or buying process.
Q. What is your favorite customer story?
A: Opendoor works well for all sorts of customers, but we work particularly well for people needing to get things done quickly; something traditional processes and an unpredictable housing market cannot always do well. We recently had a customer who was moving out of town due to a job transfer and was stressed at the prospect of listing his home while preparing to relocate his family.
After getting a competitive offer from Opendoor, he accepted, picked a timeline that worked with all he had going on in his life, and was on his way to his next chapter. He shared that he was shocked how easy and hassle-free the process was. The time he saved on listing and showing his house was spent focusing on spending time with his family and enjoying their last days in Portland instead.
Q. Describe the coolest/most unique house that Opendoor has bought since launching in Portland?
A: Opendoor bought a unique house in Lake Oswego that had a lot of character. As the past owners grew their family, they also grew their house by adding on rooms and converting parts of their home to make the spaces functional for their family.
Q. What is your favorite local restaurant and why?
A: Skyway Bar & Grill out in Zigzag is my favorite because it has great BBQ and a lively atmosphere. Part of the reason this is my favorite is that if I’m there, that probably means I just finished a day of skiing or something else outdoors up at Mt. Hood.
Q. What is your superpower?
A: I am a surprisingly calm and well-balanced person. When things go wrong and tensions run high, I have a unique ability to be a calming and steady presence that helps keep things moving forward in the right direction.
Check out our conversations with General Managers of other Opendoor markets:
Opendoor’s Las Vegas General Manager on why she’s ‘all in’ on Sin City
Opendoor’s Charlotte GM on what it’s like to break ground in a hot real estate market
Talent, tech & time travel: Q&A with General Manager Amit Arora
Opendoor expands its footprint in Florida by launching in Tampa