Redfin Opens in Denver

DENVER, Jan. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Redfin, a technology-powered brokerage that seeks to change the whole real estate game in consumers' favor, today expanded to the Denver metropolitan area, bringing to Colorado the company's trademark combination of consumer advocacy, transparency and value.

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Unlike almost any brokerage in the state, Redfin pays its agents bonuses based on customer satisfaction, not commissions. And Redfin's award-winning website is the first to offer Denver-area consumers access to a property's complete price history straight from the database that brokers use to record listings and sales, so home-buyers can see how long a home has been on the market, and whether its price has been reduced.

Just as important, virtually no major Denver brokerage offers consumers the value that Redfin does. When buying or selling homes through a Redfin agent, a customer pays half the typical commission, saving $7,500 in fees on a typical $500,000 listing. In the case of buyers, the savings comes as a commission refund check after closing. In outlying areas of Denver, Redfin relies on partner agents, but still refunds 15% of the commission to the consumer.

Technology is the reason that Redfin can deliver superior value to Denver-area customers: rather than prospecting for customers, Redfin agents rely on the company's website to reach consumers, who choose an agent based on a profile of the agent that includes her entire deal history, and reviews from each of her customers. At each step of buying or selling a home, from touring to offer-writing to escrow, Redfin's web and mobile tools make the process more convenient, informed and efficient.

From central Denver extending south including Englewood, Greenwood Village, Littleton, Lone Tree, Centennial and Highlands Ranch, Redfin provides direct service through our own agents.  In Aurora, Lakewood, and Wheat Ridge, we've partnered with local agents who share our values and commitment to customer service. Redfin's search site extends to the northern suburbs as well as the outlying areas of Boulder, Longmont and Fort Collins.

"Denver is a perfect market for Redfin, just because folks here are so comfortable with technology and so hungry for change," said Michelle Ackerman, new head of Redfin's Denver real estate operations. Ms. Ackerman has worked in real estate since 2005, for RE/MAX  Alliance and several local home builders. "Denver-area agents have flocked to Redfin's business model, allowing us to recruit an all-star team. And we think Denver consumers will love Redfin even more, from the moment they see the property data published on our site all the way through to when they use our service."

Denver is the sixth market the company has opened in the past twelve months, and the 16th overall.  "Denver is a market Redfin has wanted to launch since 2006," said Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman. "Denver's demographics perfectly match those of the typical Redfin customers, but until now we didn't have the operational expertise to thrive in a place where home prices are 50% lower than those in Seattle or Boston."

About Redfin

Redfin (www.redfin.com) is the real estate industry's first online brokerage, combining a customer-focused team of real estate agents with online tools for making the process of buying or selling a home easy. Redfin's agents handle every facet of a transaction, including tours, pricing analyses, negotiations, inspections and closings. Redfin is the only major search site to feature listings direct from broker databases as well as for-sale-by-owner and foreclosure properties from across the Internet. The company pays its agents customer-satisfaction bonuses, not commissions, and surveys every client, publishing each survey alongside the agent's complete deal history. Redfin's service is available in the metropolitan areas of Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Seattle, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Austin, Dallas, Portland, Washington DC, Baltimore, New York's Long Island and Westchester County as well as most of California, including the San Francisco Bay Area, Southern California and Sacramento. To keep track of our daring exploits, subscribe to blog.redfin.com or our Twitter feed @redfin.

SOURCE Redfin