Amazon is edging into real estate, but not how anyone expected | Washington Post

See TurnKey for program details

"“For Amazon this is a free way to experiment with attracting customers," Craig-Hallum analyst Brad Berning wrote in a recent research note. “For Realogy, we believe this is desperation to improve their broker platform which has structural headwinds and a levered balance sheet.”

The company, which includes Coldwell Banker, Century 21 Real Estate and Sotheby’s International Realty among its brands, has seen its stock sink 65 percent this year. Realogy’s market cap has shrunk to around $600 million, after peaking at more than $7 billion in 2013. Realogy’s shares rose 35 percent to $7 after the partnership with Amazon was announced. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

Realogy has much to gain from teaming up with Amazon, and the e-commerce giant has little to lose, regardless of whether TurnKey takes off: it’s Realogy, not Amazon, that foots the bill for customers’ benefits bundles."

Amazon is edging into real estate, but not how anyone expected | Washington Post