Company Overview & Success To Date

Seattle-based real estate agent RedFin Inc. (RDFN) has filed for an IPO. The deal is expected to take place in late July or early August. The company was launched in 2004 and has raised $167M in venture funding. Notable investors include: Greylock Ventures, Madrona Ventures, and Draper Fisher Jurvetson.

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Redfin’s mission is to make buying and selling homes better for the consumer. The company differentiates itself from other real estate brokerages through its high-tech software. Redfin is the only major real estate brokerage, which builds its own brokerage software. This recently became the most visited brokerage sit in the US.

The company’s online and mobile platform make it easy for customers to search for homes, schedule viewings, and match with an agent. On their phones or online, customers can create filtered home searches, get notifications on new listings in their area, schedule tours with Redfin agents, and even begin the process of making an offer on a property. At the same time, Redfin maintains the personal touch by partnering homebuyers with a real estate agent that stays with them through the entire home-buying process.

Redfin currently operates in 80 markets, with the majority of revenue coming from to top ten metropolitan areas. In 2016, 72% of revenue was derived from its top-10 markets: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Maryland, Orange Country, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Virginia.

The company plans to list on the Nasdaq and lead underwriters for the deal are Goldman Sachs and Allen & Co.

Unique Business Model Aims To Align Agents With Customers

Redfin employs a different business model than typical real estate brokerages. As opposed to real estate agents making money through the commission of home sales, agents are salaried employees of Redfin and receive bonuses post-sales, based on the home buyer’s rating of their performance. The purpose of this model is to align the goal of the real estate agent with the home buyer.