Credit: Redfin

US-based Redfin launched in Canada this year (2019), making Vancouver and Toronto its first international markets. Redfin is a technology-powered, residential real estate brokerage with the mission “to redefine real estate in the consumer’s favour.”

Redfin’s managing broker for BC, Brooks Findlay, asserts that “[as] a result of our technology, team structure, and employee-agent model, Redfin agents are three times more productive than the average agent.”

The technology consists of many different tools built by Redfin to aid the agent as well as the client and includes custom searches and “offer insights”—real-time statistics and notes from Redfin agents about offers submitted on behalf of their clients.

The Redfin model uses a team approach to customer service and distribution of tasks, which is somewhat different from most business models. “Every customer has a lead agent … backed by a team of people: support agents who answer initial queries about homes for sale and what it’s like to work with Redfin as well as coordinators who get listings ready to put on the market and coordinate with lenders and title companies to keep a deal on track,” writes Findlay. “By working in teams, we can deliver more consistent and reliable service.”

Redfin agents are salaried employees, not independent contractors, as is the norm, which Redfin sees as an advantage. “Since these are our own agents, we can survey each customer on our service and pay the agent a bonus based on customer satisfaction,” says Findlay, who notes that customer survey results make it into agent online profiles. “We’re fanatics about transparency and stand by our service, which is why we post every review (the good, the bad, and the ugly) right on the agent’s profile… This business model ensures every Redfin agent’s primary motivation is to deliver great service and make our customers happy.”

Download Fall 2019

To read more about Redfin’s client-centred business model, see Findlay’s “Redfin in Canada” in the Fall 2019 edition of Input. Download Fall 2019

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