RedFin

• Technology Powered Real-Estate Brokerage
• Data Center
• Redfin Now and Redfin Direct
• Real Estate Agents
• State Coverage
• Social Media Presence

Technology Powered Real-Estate Brokerage

Redfin uses technology to help buyers find agents and homes for sale. The Redfin app lets buyers peruse thousands of homes for sale, get detailed information on each, and even schedule a home tour directly from the app. From the app, users can search for homes for sale in a specific city, zip code, neighborhood, or school attendance zone.

Users can narrow their search by property type (e.g., house or condo), price, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, square footage, and other key features. 

Since Redfin is a real estate brokerage, it gets information directly from local multiple listing services, which means the app has 20 percent more homes for sale than other non-brokerage real estate applications, and it is updated more frequently. Once users have created a search, they can save that search and sign up to receive mobile or email notifications any time a home comes on the market that meets the search criteria.

When customers find a home they like, they can add it to their favorites by selecting the heart button. The house will be saved to their profile so they can easily find it again, and they'll receive notifications any time something changes, like when it goes under contract or drops in price.
 
For home sellers, Redfin real estate agents are out touring homes every day, and their insights about those homes are shared on Redfin.com and the Redfin app. These "tour insights" are information that consumers can't find anywhere else — if the home is on a busy street, when it appears to have been remodeled last, or if it has a great view, for example. 

Additionally, Redfin posts a review of each of its agents online. After selecting an agent, the agent will help homeowners properly price their home as well as guide homeowners through the selling process (i.e., marketing a home through targeted email campaigns and professionally designed print brochures and open houses).

Redfin agents may also create a Redfin 3D Walkthrough of the home so potential buyers can tour it right from the Redfin website.

Data Center

As a real estate brokerage company, Redfin has direct access to data from multiple local listing services (as well as insight from their real estate agents). Because of this, Redfin can provide its customers with the earliest and most reliable data on the state of the housing market. 

Through Redfin, consumers can download the housing market data for any metropolitan area, city, neighborhood, and zip code. The data includes things such as median sale price, average sale-to-list difference, percentage of homes that sold above list price, percentage of homes that had a price drop, number of homes on the market, new listings, median days on the market, and more. 

Redfin Now and Redfin Direct

Redfin offers a service that helps make home-selling simple: RedfinNow. RedfinNow allows home sellers to skip repairs, showings, and the uncertainty of a traditional home sale, and sell directly to RedfinNow for an all-cash offer. Sellers can choose to move on their own timeline with a flexible close date from 7 to 60 days, for a flat fee of 7 percent (instead of agent commissions). Additionally, sellers can compare their RedfinNow offer to what they could make listing with a Redfin agent and choose the best option for them. 

Redfin Direct is for homebuyers who want to purchase a home online without an agent. After finding a Redfin listing, buyers can tour it virtually or book an in-person tour. If it's the perfect home, buyers can use Redfin's step-by-step online tool to write an offer (this tool helps simplify the process by featuring the latest data on what other successful buyers offered for similar homes). If the offer is accepted, a Redfin listing agent will follow up and keep the deal on track. 

Real Estate Agents

According to the Redfin website, "Redfin has the highest percentage of top-performing agents," and agents earn a salary and benefits, but bonuses are based on customer satisfaction. 

State Coverage

In the United States, Redfin offers its services to 45 of the 50 states. This is on the higher end of the real estate market

Additionally, Redfin is available to Canadian residents. 

Social Media Presence

As one might expect with Redfin being so technology-based, the company is fairly active across all its social media platforms. Redfin is regularly posting articles, videos, and helpful hints about the housing/real estate industry and provides an excellent resource for buyers, sellers, and anyone interested in learning more about real estate. 

Consumers can access these resources on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, or Youtube.

• Consumer Complaints
• Limited State Coverage

Consumer Complaints

While Redfin claims that its use of technology allows its agents to provide better, more reliable customer service, several reviews on BestCompany.com refute those claims. 

Unfortunately, several Redfin customers were unhappy with their agent. One customer stated that they felt their agent did not communicate with them and wouldn't answer or return phone calls, emails, or texts, which contradicts Redfin's claim that its agents are in constant communication with clients. 

Another reviewer was frustrated with his Redfin representative as he felt they had "no knowledge or control" over Redfin's computer algorithm (the algorithm determines a home's value). 

Limited State Coverage

While Redfin does service more states than several other real estate agencies, there are five states that the company does not service:

• Alaska
• North Dakota
• Montana
• South Dakota
• Wyoming