Redfin “Hot Homes” Show Buyers When to Move Quickly

Hot or Not? Redfin “Hot Homes” Show Buyers When to Move Quickly

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Updated on October 5th, 2020

[UPDATE on 11/18/14: The Redfin engineering team has tweaked the Hot Homes Algorithm to make it even more accurate. The algorithm now identifies Hot Homes based on real estate conditions in each market, rather than at a national level as it did at launch. The new definition of a Hot Home is one that has a 70% chance or higher of having an accepted offer within two weeks of its debut. In addition, the algorithm will now present the percentage in 5% increments rather than single-digit increments. We’ve also made the Hot Homes feature available on the Redfin Android app in addition to the iPhone and iPad app.]

From cable news to cocktail parties, the housing market is, well, a hot topic. But for serious homebuyers, the big picture doesn’t matter as much. What matters is whether a home that’s just perfect may get sold before you even have a chance to see it. And, almost everywhere, the most desirable homes sell very, very quickly. Hmmm … if only there was a way to know when to drop everything and hit that Go Tour It button …

You knew where this was going.

Introducing Redfin Hot Homes, a new feature that identifies which homes for sale are likely to sell quickly, and highlights these homes throughout Redfin.com.

Redfin identifies a home as “Hot” when our proprietary Hot Homes Algorithm calculates that there is an 80% chance of that home having an accepted offer within two weeks of its debut. We label these Hot Homes on the map, so it’s easy to identify them as you are browsing homes for sale. And on the page that describes each home in detail, we’ll tell you how likely it is that a home will have an accepted offer within the next few days.

Hot Homes Statement

Redfin Hot Homes is the latest of our big-data initiatives to help consumers buy homes they would have otherwise missed. Most recently, we launched Redfin Matchmaker, which identifies homes that users are likely to love but had overlooked.


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To create Redfin Hot Homes, our data scientists developed a mathematical formula, or algorithm, that analyzes hundreds of attributes about the homes themselves, including square footage, bedrooms, bathrooms, lot size, views and location. The algorithm also layers in buyers’ preferences for those attributes.

As usual, our CEO Glenn Kelman said it best: “Redfin already gets listings faster than any other major real estate site, giving our home-buying customers the jump on the competition. But it’s hard to tell when you have to jump. Which home will get three offers this weekend, and which will still be for sale in September? Using data no one else has to rate every home for sale, Redfin crunches more than 500 different attributes of the house, the neighborhood — and what homebuyers are looking for in that neighborhood. Our goal as Redfin agents is to make sure you never miss a shot at your dream home.”

HotHomesLDP_FINAL

Redfin Hot Homes will give you a leg up on the competition, and the competition is fierce. The latest Redfin Bidding War Report shows that about two-thirds of Redfin offers faced bidding wars. In order to win, you have to move fast; according to the Redfin Fastest Markets Report, the most desirable homes are selling in two weeks or less. For all of those homebuyers who cited low inventory, rising prices and competition as their top three concerns in the latest Redfin Real-Time Buyer Survey, Redfin Hot Homes was built for you.

Hot Homes Map Page

HotHomesIcon3This feature is exclusive to Redfin; no other real estate website identifies homes that are likely to sell within two weeks. It’s one more example of the magic that can happen when our team of engineers works closely with our real estate agents to make the home-buying and selling process better for everyone.

Redfin Hot Homes is now available on Redfin.com, and is coming soon to the Redfin Real Estate app on iPhone and iPad. [UPDATE on 6/30/14: Hot Homes is now available on iOS, download it here!] You can read more about the Hot Homes feature on Redfin, or better yet, check out some actual Hot Homes by searching for homes for sale. If you see a Hot Home that you like, talk to a local Redfin Agent to schedule a tour today.

We’d love to hear what you think of Redfin Hot Homes in the comments below, or on Facebook, Twitter, and G+ .

Bridget Frey

Bridget Frey

As Redfin’s Chief Technology Officer, Bridget leads the software engineering and analytics teams. Her mission is to build technology that makes the process of buying and selling a home less complicated and less stressful. She is a leader on issues facing traditionally underrepresented people in technology, and 36% of Redfin’s technology team are women while 10% are Black or Latinx. Prior to Redfin, Frey was the director of analytics and business applications at Lithium Technologies. In addition, she has held management positions at IntrinsiQ Research, IMlogic and Plumtree Software. Since 2019, she has served on the board of directors for Premera Blue Cross. Bridget holds a bachelor's degree in computer science from Harvard University, where she graduated magna cum laude. She was recently recognized as a Seattle CIO of The Year award winner. Follow Bridget on Twitter.

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