Technology-Powered Real Estate Brokerage Redfin Arrives in Houston

HOUSTON, March 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Redfin, the technology-powered brokerage (www.redfin.com), today announced its arrival in Houston, expanding its one-of-a-kind combination of technology and service to its third Texas market, just in time for the spring home-buying and selling season. Redfin launched in Dallas in 2010 and Austin in 2012 and serves a total of 21 major markets across the United States.

"With Redfin's arrival in Houston, home-buyers and sellers here can for the first time get an agent paid and managed to put the customer ahead of the commission," said Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman. "Redfin's Houston agents will tell our customers when a home doesn't seem like a good fit, or when to walk away from a bad deal. And on average we'll save each customer thousands in fees."

To celebrate, Redfin is hosting a free welcome event on Wednesday, March 20 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Hearsay Gastro Lounge in Houston. For every person who attends this event, Redfin will donate $10 to Communities In Schools of Houston.

Redfin agents can now serve buyers and sellers in the entire greater Houston area, including Downtown, Galleria, The Woodlands, Humble, Cypress, Katy, Sugarland, Pearland, and League City.

The Redfin model is different from that of other brokers, uniquely aligning agent and customer interests. Every client who works with Redfin receives a satisfaction survey, whether his or her deal closes or not, and every review is published online. Customer satisfaction ratings, not commissions, determine the agents' bonus pay. Additionally, unlike traditional real estate agents, most Redfin agents get salaries, health care benefits, and opportunities for stock options.

Tara Waggoner, who has worked in the real estate industry for more than 15 years, joins Redfin as the Houston area manager. "Redfin's focus on customer satisfaction, not just commissions, is what first drew me to the company," Waggoner said. "I am excited to utilize Redfin's technology to better educate my clients on the local market, helping homebuyers to find the right home for the best price and homeowners determine the best time and price to sell."

Redfin refunds homebuyers up to half of the buyer's agent commission. To date, Redfin has refunded clients more than $100 million in commissions. For a $300,000 home, a Redfin client would save more than $2,000. For listing clients, Redfin charges 1.5 percent as opposed to the typical 3 percent of a traditional agent. For someone selling a $300,000 home, that would be a savings of $4,500. A person who buys and sells a home with Redfin saves on both sides of the transaction.

With Redfin's arrival, the company brings data and tools previously unavailable to consumers in Houston, including:

• Home Price Tool: Enables customers to estimate the value of their home based on the same information used by real estate agents.
• Offer and Tour Insights: Publishes real-time statistics and notes from Redfin agents about thousands of tours and offers.
• Deal Room: Helps agents and their clients coordinate and track the tasks that need to be completed in order to successfully close the home purchase transaction.
• Listing Dashboard: Allows home-sellers to track online and in-person traffic to their listing compared with that of nearby comparable homes for sale.

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 21 U.S. markets and has closed more than $8 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 Corporation