Zillow Group to acquire Spruce

Zillow Group has entered into an agreement to acquire Spruce, a title insurance and escrow startup. Over time, Zillow and Spruce will build a “digital-powered” closing services offering for Zillow customers.

Founded in 2016, the New York-based startup disclosed $110 million in funding. Spruce had multiple rounds of layoffs, going from ~360 employees in March 2022 to ~175 employees today.

Earlier this year, it introduced SpruceProtect: HOA Guarantee, the “first and only” HOA (homeowner’s association) rental coverage policy. The product provides financial coverage in the event of rental restrictions that could impact the rentability of an investment property located within an HOA. Property owners can recoup losses of up to $50k to cover expenses such as closing costs, home improvements, and rental revenue loss.

“Title should never be a blocker to a great transaction and our goal is for our customers to see and feel how much better the real estate transaction can be when they work with Zillow.. With Spruce, Zillow is building a tech-forward, high volume title company for the future.” – Matt Daimler, Zillow SVP of product.

“Real estate transactions often fall short of buyer and seller expectations. Like Zillow, Spruce is driven by the vision of offering an amazing transaction experience to buyers and sellers. We’re excited to join Zillow in the ambitious mission to create the best closing solution for the modern home-buying process.” – Spruce CEO and co-founder, Patrick Burns.