Opendoor’s Market Debut Caps Roller Coaster Year in Housing (3)

Eric Wu made his first foray into real estate as a student at the University of Arizona, using scholarship money to make a down payment on a rental property. Now, he’s taken his company public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company.

Opendoor Technologies Inc. began trading Monday following the completion of the merger. The shares bounced between gains and losses and eventually closed at $31.25 in New York, 5.9% higher than the price on Friday.

Wu owns nearly 33 million shares of the company, a stake worth more than $1 billion.

The market debut marks the ...