Opendoor to expand nationally after stock bull run, C-suite shakeup 

Opendoor has revealed that it will expand its offerings across the continental U.S. "in the coming weeks," according to a new SEC filing. The proptech company, which has recently witnessed a flood of interest from retail investors and welcomed a new CEO, appears poised to capitalize on this momentum to bolster its growth and service footprint. 

Going national: The short 8-K filed on Sept. 16 offers few details but indicates that the company will soon expand its service area to the "entire continental United States." These services include the iBuyer's direct cash offer to homeowners, its "Cash Plus" buy-before-you-sell product and its partner agent program Key Agent.

The company has been "in growth mode" since the beginning of the summer, Nick Boniakowski, head of agent partnerships at Opendoor, told Real Estate News back in June. 

"We're eager to get more great agent partnerships going because we have so many customers we want to serve," Boniakowski explained at the time, adding that there was a "big opportunity for Opendoor to convert more customers" via agent partners.

Meme stock movement gives Opendoor shares a boost: In May, Nasdaq warned Opendoor that it could face delisting if its stock price didn't rebound. But the iBuyer was back in compliance by late July following a sudden and unexpected price surge. 

The "meme stock" effect — largely thanks to EMJ Capital Founder Eric Jackson's vocal enthusiasm for the company — helped push the iBuyer's stock price over $10 by mid-September. Opendoor shares have risen 765% over the past six months. 

Shakeup in the C-suite: Opendoor noted its expansion plans just days after experiencing a notable leadership shakeup. During the iBuyer's July and early August stock price rally, Jackson called for change — and by Aug. 15, Carrie Wheeler had announced that she was stepping down immediately from the CEO role.  

Less than one month later, Opendoor on Sept. 10 named former Shopify COO Kaz Nejatian its new CEO and announced the return of Co-founders Keith Rabois and Eric Wu, both of whom have rejoined Opendoor's board of directors.

More big changes on the horizon? Rabois suggested during a Sept. 12 interview with CNBC that big layoffs could be ahead for Opendoor staff.

"There's 1,400 employees at Opendoor. I don't know what most of them do," he said. "We don't need more than 200 of them."

However, Rabois did not specify when cuts would be made — or if they would occur at all.

"I haven't yet dug into the financials," he explained. "I won't opine about the future, financial future, etcetera. I know the strategy: I have a high-level view of the strategy of things that can be improved. But there's no way you need 1,400 employees."