Opendoor CEO warns housing market has stopped working

There’s a problem with the housing market.

Homes are coming onto the market, yet many residences are sitting idle. Buyers seek relief, but mortgage rates are still high enough to make monthly payments difficult. Older homeowners who may otherwise downsize are staying put, because moving could mean losing a considerably cheaper mortgage.

That leaves first-time buyers stuck in the middle.

Opendoor CEO Kaz Nejatian says the problem is not just home prices. Many people cannot afford to move in this market, even when they want to.

This is important for Opendoor (OPEN), a company that is based around making real estate transactions easier and quicker. Transaction-driven enterprises suffer the effects rapidly when the housing market slows.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.47% as of June 18, down from 6.52% a week earlier but still high enough to strain affordability, Freddie Mac said.

This results in an apparently lively market that is very irritating under the surface.

“First-time homebuyers are stuck not being able to buy in this market,” Nejatian said on CNBC.

Opendoor CEO says first-time homebuyers are locked out

Listings are up, but homes are staying on the market longer than they did a year ago, Nejatian said.

That is a key difference.

More listings don’t always translate into an easier market for buyers. Inventory can climb if mortgage rates are high and sellers are reluctant to decrease prices, even if homes don’t feel affordable.

The main issue is movement.

Many owners were able to refinance or buy homes when mortgage rates were significantly cheaper. Now if you sell a property and buy a new one, it may mean trading a rate near 3% for one over 6%.

This makes downsizing less tempting.

It also prevents homes from moving through the market in the normal course.

Older homeowners choosing to stay means fewer homes for younger buyers. When younger purchasers can’t get on the typical housing ladder, it starts to break down.

Opendoor housing warning: Key takeaways

• Opendoor CEO Kaz Nejatian says first-time homebuyers are stuck in the current market.
• Mortgage rates remain high enough to keep monthly payments painful.
• Many homeowners are not downsizing because they do not want to give up cheaper mortgages.
• The typical first-time buyer age has risen to 40, according to the National Association of Realtors.
• A slow transaction market creates a direct challenge for Opendoor’s business model.

The National Association of Realtors said in its 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers that the share of first-time buyers dropped to a record low of 21%, while the mean age of a first-time buyer increased to a record high of 40.

This confirms Nejatian’s warning.

Your first home is more than simply a house. It is often the start of building money in the household. If buyers wait until age 40, the long-term consequences can extend well beyond a single bad market cycle.

Opendoor has a lot riding on housing movement

Nejatian’s views are especially notable given Opendoor’s business is based on housing activity.

The company says its goal is to “tilt the world in favor of homeowners and those working hard to become homeowners.” Its business is centered on using technology to simplify homebuying and selling.

Opendoor’s basic premise is simple: buy properties, make repairs or renovations, and sell them. The company portrays the iBuyer concept as a cycle in which it buys a home, renovates it and then resells it.

That approach works best when homes are selling.

In a frozen market, both parties face challenges. Sellers may be reluctant to list. Buyers might be unwilling to bid. Homes can last longer. It becomes harder to discover prices. Inventory risk can rise.

Thus, Nejatian’s warning is more than a general gripe about the property market.

That gets down to the difficulty Opendoor faces.

The startup is seeking to convince investors it can utilize technology, data and speed to take friction out of residential real estate. But rising mortgage rates and financial pressure might override even a smoother process.

More Real Estate:

• Americans face major decision after housing market news
• Zillow reveals major housing market shift
• Realtor.com, ATTOM flag alarming housing risk

Opendoor CEO Nejatian, previously COO and VP of Product at Shopify, was named CEO in September 2025 to take the company into its next chapter as an AI-powered real estate platform.

That makes the current market a big test.

Opendoor has a better pitch if it can assist homes sell in a weak market. When buyers and sellers get stuck, it’s tougher to grow.

Bloomberg &sol Getty Images

Opendoor CEO says housing needs fewer barriers

Nejatian also pointed to the tension between buyers and sellers in the housing market.

That is a familiar argument from a real estate technology executive, but it lands differently in this market.

Buyers seek more than cheaper housing prices. They want to pay less per month. Sellers don’t merely want to sell quickly. They desire a solid price, especially if their next home will have a considerably higher mortgage rate.

Goals can be in conflict.

The mechanism inherently adds too much expense between buyer and seller, said Nejatian. If that friction could be removed, he claimed, sellers could keep more money and purchasers could pay less.

That’s the bullish argument for startups like Opendoor.

The corporation cannot determine mortgage rates. It can't make the owners sell. It cannot on its own tackle affordability.

But in a market that is already a challenge, it can make the case that faster, cleaner transactions are more important.

But first-time purchasers still have an immediate difficulty.

They are confronting expensive payments, aging competitors, limited affordable supply and a market where many existing homeowners have little incentive to relocate.

For many Americans, that has made the first home a late-life milestone, not a beginning point.

Nejatian’s warning is a business reality for Opendoor, too.

A sluggish housing market hurts consumers, hurts sellers and especially hurts companies established to make transactions happen.

Related: New data raises fresh housing market concerns