Redfin, an online real estate brokerage firm, launched operations today in Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego. How it works: If you're looking for a home, a Redfin agent does all negotiations and paperwork, giving you a discount of two-thirds on a standard buyer's agent commission. Sellers can list their home for $2,000, which covers includes all negotiation and closing work.
The four-year-old, Seattle-based service has irked the real estate industry, who presumably fear extinction. “People sent us e-mails saying someone would break our knee caps so we’d better watch it,” Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman told the Financial Times last fall.
·Redfin Launches Real Estate E-Commerce Service for Southern California[Redfin]
·A Bitter Battle for the Sales Territory [FT.com]