April 24, 2008 addition: Redfin is correcting how it calculates the weighted average in the Redfin Advantage report. Greg Wharton, the general counsel at my last job, liked to answer questions enigmatically. When I asked him if a software pawnshop in Florida was trying to buy us, he would smile and say, “answering that question… Read More
Michael Arrington complains again today that people are overwhelmed with email. Michael cites a venture capitalist who encourages people awaiting his email reply to befriend him on Facebook, but then admits he is even less responsive there. “Someone,” Michael says, “needs to create a new technology that allows us to enjoy our life but not… Read More
Out of nowhere last week, an NPR producer sent us a note asking about Redfin’s March Madness plans. At first I thought she was talking about last week’s open houses release. Then I was about to say we aren’t doing anything special, but double-checked first with Redfin power forwards Klaus Gosma and Loren Ellingson, who… Read More
“If there’s one thing I know how to do,” a friend once told me, after one of those long, grappa-fueled nights of ping-pong that make the rest of life seem like such an enigma, “It’s how to have a good time.” Over the years, this friend has explained to me many things: what different drugs… Read More
A bill introduced by the Illinois legislature to outlaw refunding real estate commissions to consumers, which we complained about last month, finally died today. An obscure group called the Homeowners Club of America had supported the bill as a response to “West Coast brokers attempting to change Illinois commission structures.” Since the bill came just… Read More
A recent Redfin Forums contributor raised the question: Does a higher buyers’ agent commission = faster sale? From Baltimore to Seattle to Southern California, real estate agents and journalists have endorsed the idea of offering unusually large commissions so buyer’s agents will recommend a listing. Because we’re curious masochists, we decided to answer that question…. Read More
Last fall we opened our doors for a live real estate mashup dubbed The Red Carpet; a sort of customer meets agent and engineer free-for-all. And I was reminded again why we don’t need ice breakers or alcohol (we’ll still bring it anyway) at our events. Real estate is the ice breaker. It’s like talking… Read More
Like a hideously tortured beast finally broken free of its chains, Redfin’s engineering team has been on the rampage this winter, releasing the second major upgrade to our site in just the past 45 days. This one features Listing Metrics, a dashboard for Redfin customers selling their house to see whether their listing is getting… Read More