Sunday, June 10, 2012

Redfin Coming to Manhattan?

Redfin has been doing commission rebates along with providing transparent business practices for many years outside of NY. But a few years ago they started offering their services in New York but not Manhattan or Brooklyn. This is going to change, according to their website's forum, they are looking to set up shop in Manhattan. This could be a game changer for the buyers and sellers of NYC property. I have referred many buyers/sellers from outside of NYC to Redfin.

The Burkhardt Group has certainly changed the landscape by offering the once-unrepresented buyer a business model to suit their particular needs. But Redfin is a much larger company with quite a bit of resources. It will be interesting to see how they do here. 

Our focus has been more of a boutique-approach, solely servicing buyers (we no longer list homes) with a very hands on, analytical approach tailored to the sophisticated client base of NYC. We understand that buyers need and expect an equally sophisticated, knowledgeable level of service. I love what Redfin has been doing to offer an alternative model for buying/selling real estate. I'm just not sure how they will do in the Big Apple. Guess we may know sooner than later. I welcome their arrival as I truly believe that the more options the consumer has, the better it is for all players in the game. Competition drives creativity and the creation of more efficient models!

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