Redfin Users Can Now Find Homes for Sale Based on School Zones

SEATTLE, Oct. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Redfin^®, the technology-powered real estate broker (www.redfin.com), today introduced a new feature on its website that enables customers to find all the homes for sale within specific school zones in 19 major markets across the U.S.

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Redfin real estate agents report that most families choose where to buy a home primarily based on what schools their children would attend. Proximity to desirable schools also affects a home's resale value, which is important information for homebuyers with or without school-age children. The new school search feature includes the option to receive instant or daily alerts when new homes become available within a particular school zone.

"As a parent, schools were at the top of my mind when I used Redfin to buy my house a few years ago," said Bridget Frey, vice president of engineering at Redfin. "And as a software engineer, I always love getting my hands on new data (such as school attendance zones) and using it to enhance our map-based search experience. So it almost goes without saying that I'm incredibly excited about our school search feature. It's going to save our customers hours and hours of research time, and help get them into the right homes."

Redfin sets its school enrollment zone boundaries based on data from multiple school-zoning sources, as well as insight from Redfin's local real estate agents.

Ways to use Redfin's new school-based search feature:

• Search by school name (e.g. Garfield High School):
  • Type the school name into the Location search bar. The school's enrollment boundary will appear on the map in red. Additional details about the school, including its GreatSchools rating, are available on the right-hand sidebar. 
• Click a school icon on the map page:
  • In the right-hand sidebar, click "Show Attendance Zone" to view the homes for sale inside the school's enrollment boundaries.
• Set up a Redfin Instant Alert or Redfin Daily Alert for homes in a particular school attendance zone.
  • Search by school name.
  • Click "E-mail me new listings" and choose Daily or Instant alerts.

About Redfin
Redfin (www.redfin.com) is a technology-powered real estate broker that represents people buying and selling homes. Founded and run by technologists, Redfin has a team of experienced, full-service real estate agents who are advocates, not sales-people, earning customer-satisfaction bonuses, not commissions. Redfin's online tools feature all the broker-listed homes for sale, as well as for-sale-by-owner properties that don't pay brokers a commission. The company serves 19 U.S. markets and has closed more than $5 billion in home sales. In 2012, Redfin was named one of The DIGITAL 100: World's Most Valuable Private Tech Companies by Business Insider. Follow us on blog.redfin.com, on Twitter @redfin, and Facebook.com/Redfin.

SOURCE Redfin