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For those who actually DID sell through Redfin (I can read online reviews myself just fine, no need to cp them, thank you) - exactly how much does it cost to sell through them?
1% listing fee is listing fee, with a big asterisk to it. Asterisk says - buyer agent commissions not included. Hence, it's already 1%+3(?)% buyer agent? Unless there is no agent? No doubt, other fees will pop out.
Listing fee - what exactly is included? Property can be placed online for very little money, plenty of that around. Does Redfin agent actually do anything else?
For those who actually DID sell through Redfin (I can read online reviews myself just fine, no need to cp them, thank you) - exactly how much does it cost to sell through them?
1% listing fee is listing fee, with a big asterisk to it. Asterisk says - buyer agent commissions not included. Hence, it's already 1%+3(?)% buyer agent? Unless there is no agent? No doubt, other fees will pop out.
Listing fee - what exactly is included? Property can be placed online for very little money, plenty of that around. Does Redfin agent actually do anything else?
I'll appreciate real life Redfin user feedback.
Thank you.
Wait, they expect you to pay 1% upfront to list on their site with no guarantees? That's $3K up front for a $300,000 home.
For those who actually DID sell through Redfin (I can read online reviews myself just fine, no need to cp them, thank you) - exactly how much does it cost to sell through them?
1% listing fee is listing fee, with a big asterisk to it. Asterisk says - buyer agent commissions not included. Hence, it's already 1%+3(?)% buyer agent? Unless there is no agent? No doubt, other fees will pop out.
Listing fee - what exactly is included? Property can be placed online for very little money, plenty of that around. Does Redfin agent actually do anything else?
I'll appreciate real life Redfin user feedback.
Thank you.
Your 1% basically gets you all MLS listing and a lockbox - with notifications for showings that are scheduled by buyer’s agents and access to standard contract forms. You still fork over Agent commission for the buyer.
If you’re a relatively experienced seller and don’t need advice or handholding in a warm to hot market, it works great. I used them for 3 properties in the Bay Area, without a hitch. Now, CA is an easy market to get comps in - the REA lobby doesn’t haven’t the same cartel they do in TX.
Redfin works like ALL OTHER real estate agents. Except they only take 1% as a seller and its UP TO YOU to decide the buyers commission. And of course...they only get paid if your house sells. I used Redfin to buy....dont fall for the false myths spread around sometimes.
1% in most markets plus the standard buyers commission in your area, typically 2.5-3%. They do have a minimum commission that the 1% fee must add up to but it differs by market, it's higher in areas like the SF Bay Area where it's $5,500 but is much lower in other markets. Flat fee real estate is ok just to get on the MLS but Redfin has the power to bring a lot of exposure to your property by leveraging their huge user base. They are the #1 most visited brokerage site and most used brokerage app by a very wide margin, crushing companies like Century 21, Re/Max and Coldwell Banker. Don't even bother comparing to small local only brokerages. Redfin will send out hundreds if not thousands of emails and push notifications of your home based on their users search patterns, and also social media ads as well. This equates to highly targeted marketing and advertising rather than your local agent calling the 20 agents in his/her rolodex and them sending out 500 flyers to your neighbors. You also get premium placement on their site which drives even more traffic to your home, pro photography, and 3D scans are available and included in many markets. (Scans are especially helpful appealing to out of town/state buyers). Plus, a dedicated full service agent.
In a world where 95% of buyers use the internet for their home search it makes sense that a company with a web presence like Redfin would potentially sell your home for more while you pay less in commissions due to their efficiency through their tech. The old dogs in real estate were slow to the change which led to the rise of sites like Zillow and also the growth of Redfin which has a big lead over companies that pre date them by decades.
First of all let me mention that we are pretty seasoned real estate investors with fairly extensive experience in several markets. And our network of real estate professionals is pretty wide. That said:
My wife bought a condo through Redfin a number of years ago and it was an extremely smooth process. This is in a market where we do not invest professionally. We sold that condo last year and decided to again use Redfin...and it went quite well despite some mildly adverse circumstances for most agents. Condo needed some light rehab, it was being rented by average college students (avg in cleanliness and responsiveness) who were moving out soon, and we were not 100% set on selling so also had it up for lease.
I believe we only paid 1% to redfin and 2.5% to the selling (buyer's) agent, but we did pay a little bit extra for staging. Some of the staging cost was covered by redfin but we exceeded the amount included.
Seriously, the agent was exceptional. He was responsive, pleasant, and fairly proactive. He "oversaw" the light rehab, he coordinated with the stager, he dealt with the tenants who certainly weren't difficult but were not easy either (we have sold a half dozen properties with tenants before) and he was perfectly understanding even though after listing for about 3 months (and with the property vacant for only 2 weeks) we decided to delist and proceed with some extremely qualified tenants who were ready to sign.
Amazingly, the day we delisted we received a great offer (some times buyers will get motivated when the object of their desire is disappearing before their eyes lol). So it worked out well for us, offer came in after the tenants had signed the lease but before we did!! We were very transparent with the potential tenants so they weren't upset, though probably disappointed. Ultimately would give our agent a 9/10 and we recommended him to another friend who is now using him/redfin to list her condo. The stager was also really good...our condo had never looked as good as it did after the rehab and staging lol.
I wouldn't say he's the best agent imaginable, but he did things properly and worked diligently. He is just one agent, so I don't know if that's the norm, but he did explain to us that he was very happy working for redfin. He received great benefits and perks as a full-time employee (they do not hire full-timers in every market). Things he mentioned were reimbursement for mileage, healthcare, sick days, company laptop, and a good salary. I think in some ways this allowed him to not be too worried about whether we sold and for what price (cause he doesn't receive a commission on the sale) but unlike a server at a restaurant with no tips, he's still incentivized to provide a good service because he is eligible for a small bonus based on good feedback from clients and I'm sure Redfin pays close attention if he were to get negative feedback as well.
Anyway, that's all I can think of off the top of my head. The market we were in was a high-priced, gateway city so I'm sure it's a very different perspective than other places (like the cheap markets where we do most of our business).
Thank you.
Hence, basically, it is around 4% commissions.
They also have ton of crappy reviews online but half of those is from those who believe they are sheiks that have to be carried in lap.
I think the argument Redfin would make is that they are providing a "full service" representation for a 1% (or I believe 1.5% in some markets) listing commission. They are not just "placing it online." Sure, you might get a bad Redfin agent, but you can get a bad "traditional" agent too.
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