IAC’s Angie’s List wants to help clueless homeowners

IAC CEO Joey Levin provides insight into why people should invest in online dating apps and explains how his company has climbed the economic ranks.

Buying a home is a daunting task, but one of the most intimidating things about homeownership is maintaining the house. IAC CEO Joey Levin believes its company Angie's List can help.

"Most homeowners aren't that great at all the components of owning a home," Levin told FOX Business' Jack Otter. "And if you had a thing like a [superintendent] that you could rely on ... that's the kind of service that we can hopefully provide over time."

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
IAC	IAC INC.	47.80	+0.08	+0.17%
MTCH	MATCH GROUP INC.	31.59	+1.18	+3.88%
ANGI	ANGI INC.	1.98	+0.01	+0.25%

With IAC in the midst of spinning off Match.com, ANGI Homeservices will stay with New IAC.

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"Angie is going to be a huge piece of New IAC, and we think that it has really kind of unlimited potential when you think about the amount of time and capital and frustration that people have in the homeownership process and how we can help them," Levin said on "Barron's Roundtable."

In October 2019, IAC and Expedia Chairman Barry Diller told FOX Business' Maria Bartiromo IAC had evaluated whether to spin off Angie's List as well, but they are still discussing it internally.

IAC and Expedia Chairman Barry Diller discusses the decision to delay spinning off Angie's List.

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Helping homeowners is useful right now, considering homeownership in the United States is at a multiyear high.

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The U.S. homeownership rate in the fourth quarter of 2019 was 65.1 percent, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau. That is up slightly from the prior quarter and the highest reading in about six years.

The rate was even higher in the Midwest and the South, at 69.5 percent and 66.7 percent, respectively.

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However, as previously reported by FOX Business, 2020 is expected to be a challenging year in the housing market due to declining inventory.

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The total number of available homes for sale could even hit a record low, according to a forecast from Realtor.com, particularly in the first-time buyer’s market. Accordingly, overall U.S. sales are expected to fall by 1.8 percent.

The U.S. Census Bureau said that across the U.S. 88.5 percent of housing units are occupied and 11.5 percent were vacant last quarter.

IAC acquired Angie's List for more than $500 million back in May 2017, according to Forbes, merging it with its existing reviews site HomeAdvisor to form ANGI Homeservices. Forbes reported IAC had tried to buy Angie's List in 2015, but its bid was rejected.