redfin.com Upgrades and Cuts Prices

November 10, 2008 by Emma Sorensen

Late last week online real estate broker redfin.com announced changes to its home-buying and home-selling services, and upgrades to its website.

redfin.com currently only operates in certain regions in the US. Customers who use Redfin.com to buy or sell properties earn a refund of half of the commission traditionally due their broker, and get, on average, a better price on their home, the company says.

Announced last week was the news that they are now offering buyers unlimited home tours and a dedicated agent’s support throughout the home-buying process, and the fact that sellers will receive tours of unrepresented buyers, plus more marketing options.

The company has also released a major new version of its search site to “improve consumers’ ability to find value in a distressed real estate market”.

“This is our shot at the mass-market,” said Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman in the press release. “We’ve taken everything we’ve learned about what consumers want from online and personal service to create an offering that has more of both. Everybody wants a real estate broker built from the ground up to use the web. But people also want unlimited, no-hassle home tours. And they want to call their agent whenever they need help. This is exactly what Redfin is delivering to its customers today.”

“There is now no major personal service that a traditional agent offers that Redfin doesn’t,” Kelman continued. “More importantly, we have extended our fundamental competitive advantage — using technology to give consumers the information and tools to be partners in the process — so they can see the data their agent sees, so they can get support without sales pressure, so they can get better results while saving on fees. The average Redfin client who buys and sells through us will save nearly $20,000 in fees.”

Redfin have also reviewed their pricing, and reducing its refund from 66% to 50% of the commission it receives, for a new average savings of $7,500 in fees.

To prepare for its service upgrade, Redfin conducted more than two dozen focus groups and usability sessions, and surveyed hundreds of Redfin.com visitors. Earlier this month we reported on redfin.com closing and changing its Sweet Digs blogs.

The changes to the newly renovated main redfin.com website extend deeper than just a re-design. “We re-built every page and nearly every tool on Redfin.com,” said Redfin Chief Technology Officer Michael Young. “This is our biggest release in years.”

Agent Genius blog revealed that redfin.com might be facing some competition in the form of findwell.com, who issued a “customer service challenge” to redfin.com, saying they were good on technology, but not so good on service.

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