Zillow to lay off 25% of its workforce and shutter house-flipping service

Zillow said Tuesday it is laying off a quarter of the real estate firm's 6,400 employees as it shuts down the company's house-flipping operation, a painful setback for a player that has sought to expand its role linking property buyers and sellers.

In a statement explaining the abrupt move to pull the plug on the side business, called Zillow Offers, CEO Rich Barton said "the unpredictability in forecasting home prices far exceeds what we anticipated." As a result, continuing to grow Zillow Offers "would result in too much earnings and balance-sheet volatility," he added. 

In a tweet, Barton also said the decision was "difficult, but necessary."