NEW YORK, March 6, 2026, 07:39 EST
Opendoor Technologies is rolling out 4.99% 30-year fixed-rate mortgages for buyers using its platform—a move that’s turning heads as the company pushes its turnaround plan. The pilot, available only on homes sold by Opendoor, comes with zero points, Chief Executive Kaz Nejatian said.
Timing’s in play here. Freddie Mac puts the average U.S. 30-year fixed mortgage rate at 6.00% this week, just up from 5.98% last week—still not far off the lowest since 2022, but affordability remains squeezed. Opendoor, meanwhile, is quoting a rate that’s about a percentage point under that.
That timing follows Opendoor’s return to the mortgage business. According to its Feb. 19 annual report, the company picked up a license in February to start offering mortgage products. But it also flagged that mortgage services are only up and running in a single market so far, and the track record there is thin. Opendoor’s pitch to investors: it’s targeting positive adjusted net income by end-2026, a figure that excludes certain one-offs and non-cash charges.
Nejatian said it took less than 10 weeks to build the mortgage product. Speaking this week, he described the rollout as “very early days” and highlighted what he called “obvious scale advantages” in the structure. The loans, he added, have no points—the upfront fees borrowers sometimes pay to lower a mortgage rate. HousingWire
This isn’t Opendoor’s first crack at mortgages. Back in 2019, the company rolled out Opendoor Home Loans—only to fold the operation in 2022 when rates spiked. Then, in late December, Opendoor said it was snapping up Homebuyer.com, aiming to get its mortgage offering back on track and move closer to a fully integrated home-buying platform.
Traders haven’t settled on a clear direction here. After news broke of the 4.99% mortgage, the stock dropped roughly 7% on Monday. By Thursday’s close, though, shares had rebounded, gaining 6.15% to finish at $5.18, market data show. Volatility is still the name of the game for this one.
That lines up with a company still in the middle of convincing investors its turnaround has taken hold. Opendoor put out fourth-quarter revenue of $736 million. Homes bought jumped 46% over the previous quarter, and average inventory days dropped by 23%. Still, the company projected first-quarter revenue will probably slide about 10% compared to Q4.
Skepticism lingers. Daniel Lewis at Orange Capital points to the discount, arguing Opendoor is either snapping up homes beneath market value, selling them for more, or else “taking a real hit” on returns and its balance sheet. Over at The Truth About Mortgage, founder Colin Robertson notes mortgage origination is “complex and capital-intensive,” with big-name incumbents already running at scale. MarketWatch
Competition remains fierce. Back in 2021, Zillow pulled the plug on home flipping after racking up hefty losses. Opendoor’s new strategy keeps it in the thick of the fight with Zillow, Rocket, and others—everyone wants buyers using just one platform for search, financing, and closing.
Still, the hazards are clear. In its annual filing, Opendoor flags that products like Cash Plus and its mortgage services require extra licensing, upfront spending, and more staff — with no promise that customers will bite. If the lower-cost loan fails to drive home sales or ramp up fee revenue quickly, margins could take a hit rather than improve.
The company isn’t straying from its cautious outlook. Management expects first-quarter adjusted EBITDA loss to land somewhere in the low to mid-$30 millions, with margins on homes sold expected to see some lift as the quarter unfolds. The 4.99% mortgage offer now stands out—a live experiment to see if more affordable financing nudges buyers, without further pressuring the balance sheet.
