Great PR is hard because it involves more than just a good product, but a great follow up on the PR message…. something Glenn consistently delivers. Like him or hate him, I’m sure his appearance on the Today Show tomorrow will be memorable.
Joel is right-on when he says that Redfin has…
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From what I have read (I am not a TV guy), Glenn is going to be getting an earful from every agent who saw the piece. His tips – don’t overprice and use craigslist instead of an agent to list your property. No wonder he can’t make any money in real estate.
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use craigslist instead of an agent to list your property
I guess Glenn is realizing that there is a reason why profitable brokerages have independent contractors, outsource their web presence and are enthusiastic (well almost) MLS listing members who offer cooperation and not just the financial side of the transaction. Words mean things and MLS cooperation has a meaning beyond an offer of compensation. Glenn and his VC backers might do well to revisit this concept. Cooperation does not mean that I do your work and you get my money.
Maybe we Realtors are dinosaurs, but Redfin is not the giant asteroid that will cause mass Realtor extinction. Asteroids do not require cooperation from those they would extinguish.
The fundamental difference in our business models: When self-employed Realtors have a slow down in business, they work harder/longer, do whatever it takes to survive. Salaried employees put in their work day and pray they don’t get laid off. I am sure that the Redfin salaried agents are diligent in the execution of their duties, but the struggle for financial survival puts a spring in our step and a tenacity and persistence that is rare among W-2 recipients.
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As a salaried Redfin Agent, I can attest that I and everyone here at Redfin works harder than they did before coming here.
We are all personally vested in the success of Redfin. The hiring process is more stringent than any other any of us have encountered. (Many of us joke it would have been easier to get a job with the CIA than the multitude of interviews we had to endure while trying to get a job here…) We are all here because of frustrations we had being in the traditional industry, and want to see it change for the better. And, we also have early stage stock options that we hope will pay off someday.
You are right – we do need to work with traditional agents, and do so well. Many agents who start out skeptical when beginning to work with us come around and say this was the smoothest transaction of their career.
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I concur with many of the sentiments being relayed here by other REALTORS. However, my issues are more basic.
Mr. Kelman used statistics this morning that are 5 years old and related to a CA market. This is the type of self serving use of statistics that I find appauling. The markets are changing so rapidly that using statistics that old for anything more than a reference is dishonest.
Second, the reccomendation of using Craig’s list is a great tool to add to your listing arsenal. However, the success of Craig’s list is debatable. In certain areas of the country it has been successful for rentals and markets where the average price is lower and volume driven. I do business in CT where the average price of home is in the vacinity of $500,000. I don’t feel buyers are going to make that kind of investment based on glorified classified add that is buried on a website.
Finally, shame shame on Mr. Kelman for trying to have his cake and eat it too. As a BROKER, you go on television diminishing the importance of REALTORS. Then you go on to trumpet the importance of statistical analysis yet you ignore the biggest one of all. Routinely, homes sold by owner, and to a lesser degree Foxton’s, Red Fin, etc, NET less proceeds than those listed by a traditional agent.
Make sure you include that stat next time you go on Morning television
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I have to disagree. The only two studies that I know of about the benefit of Realtors say exactly the opposite- that they don’t bring better results than FSBO or Redfin.
The first is a National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper called “The Relative Performance of Real Estate Marketing Platforms: MLS versus FSBOMadison.com.” Its authors studies the sale price of FSBO homes relative to homes listed in the MLS and found that they sell at a small premium, not a discount.
http://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/%7Eane686/research/fsbo.pdfSecond, an analysis of Redfin’s results in its first year shows that Redfin buyers actually gained a 0.9% negotiating advantage. The data we used is publicly available and has been verified by another broker who questioned the result.
http://blog.redfin.com/blog/2007/03/ok_we_can_be_moved_01.htmlWhile it’s true that existing studies don’t cover every market at every point in time, they do provide insight into general trends. Full disclosure: I work for Redfin.
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