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Oh boy, this is my time to shine. I just left Redfin for a new job and had to explain to my co workers why Redfin is able to offer a lower rate without sacrific

Oh boy, this is my time to shine. I just left Redfin for a new job and had to explain to my co workers why Redfin is able to offer a lower rate without sacrificing service. 1. Real estate agents spend a lot of time prospecting. In fact, the spend most of their time looking for customers instead of closing deals. The typical work week might be 30 hours of prospecting and 10 hours of actually working on a deal. 2. The Redfin website attracts customers so Redfin agents don't spend anytime prospecting. They only work on deals and are able to generate more revenue. This efficiency funds the customer's rebate. 3. What does "best" mean? It could be someone with a lot of experience and has a strong repeat and referral network so she never has to prospect. Or it could be someone who closes a high volume of high end deals. There are plenty of these agents at Redfin. 4. I've heard some friends complain that Redfin doesn't provide enough handholding for first time buyers. I've also heard that traditional agents can be pushy. I suspect these are two sides of the same coin. I do know that Redfin agents will provide extra handholding if you ask for it. 5. If you show up to a traditional brokerage and want to buy a 200k house then do you think they will send their top agent? On the other end, someone with a 1~2+ million budget will get the best agent and they will bend over backwards to keep you happy. This is true for Redfin or any traditional brokerage. 6. Because of Redfin, other brokerages have lowered their commission fees too. Yeah for disruption! Disclosure: I own Redfin stocks. At least I think I do. Their legal department hasn't responded to my email for confirmation yet.

speby 11y ago
Regarding #5, that simply just doesn't make sense. There are "best agents" who spend most of their time buying and selling in homes in the 250K-500K range because they have a knack for doing it efficiently and in volume. It is a huge mistake to think that just because an agent only deals in "luxury homes" that they are a better or more capable agent than one who does volume in lower-priced homes. As well, buyers and sellers in the luxury market are also more challenging to deal with because of very specific parameters and various exceptions that make doing deals more specialized (i.e. it is more difficult to compare House A to House B when both are $2.5MM each).
cowsandmilk 11y ago
> 5. If you show up to a traditional brokerage and want to buy a 200k house then do you think they will send their top agent? On the other end, someone with a 1~2+ million budget will get the best agent and they will bend over backwards to keep you happy. This is true for Redfin or any traditional brokerage. Do you actually know what redfin does for a $200k property in a city where that is "inexpensive"? Let's look in Boston at a $229,000 property: https://www.redfin.com/MA/Boston/198-Allston-St-02135/unit-10/home/9013058 https://www.redfin.com/MA/Boston/198-Allston-St-02135/unit-1... Quoting from redfin: > Below Minimum Price > To ensure every client gets the highest level of Redfin service during strong demand, Redfin is currently unable to service this property. Get more details > > To learn more or see this home, contact the listing agent directly: > Jerome Bibuld: 617-642-5456 > Red Tree Real Estate Yeah, redfin really is beating out traditional brokerages with that response.

speby 11y ago

Regarding #5, that simply just doesn't make sense. There are "best agents" who spend most of their time buying and selling in homes in the 250K-500K range because they have a knack for doing it efficiently and in volume. It is a huge mistake to think that just because an agent only deals in "luxury homes" that they are a better or more capable agent than one who does volume in lower-priced homes. As well, buyers and sellers in the luxury market are also more challenging to deal with because of very specific parameters and various exceptions that make doing deals more specialized (i.e. it is more difficult to compare House A to House B when both are $2.5MM each).

cowsandmilk 11y ago

> 5. If you show up to a traditional brokerage and want to buy a 200k house then do you think they will send their top agent? On the other end, someone with a 1~2+ million budget will get the best agent and they will bend over backwards to keep you happy. This is true for Redfin or any traditional brokerage. Do you actually know what redfin does for a $200k property in a city where that is "inexpensive"? Let's look in Boston at a $229,000 property: https://www.redfin.com/MA/Boston/198-Allston-St-02135/unit-10/home/9013058 https://www.redfin.com/MA/Boston/198-Allston-St-02135/unit-1... Quoting from redfin: > Below Minimum Price > To ensure every client gets the highest level of Redfin service during strong demand, Redfin is currently unable to service this property. Get more details > > To learn more or see this home, contact the listing agent directly: > Jerome Bibuld: 617-642-5456 > Red Tree Real Estate Yeah, redfin really is beating out traditional brokerages with that response.