A Billion-Dollar Bet on Home Flipping

Taking advantage of a tight housing market, Patrick Clark writes, a wide field of companies is trying to make a profit by simplifying the home buying process. One of them, Amherst Holdings LLC, has launched a service called Bungalo Homes, "packaging a series of features it says can improve the experience of buying a home. The company is offering no-haggle pricing, listing homes for sale on its website and promising to sell to the first pre-approved buyer to meet its price."

It's also offering warranties, mortgages, and features to help buyer manage all the moving pieces. Bungalo's business model is essentially home flipping: it acquires and fixes up properties and resells them, betting that its platform will attract buyers who must otherwise "to shoot first and ask questions later."

In its main line of business, Amherst Holdings owns or manages around 20,000 single family rentals. Executives cite that expertise as a selling point for Bungalo, which launched this month with 25 renovated homes listed in Dallas and 10 in Tampa, Florida.