A War of Words Builds In Anticipation of 60 Minutes Spot

Not to be outdone by the upcoming 60 Minutes story, the Seattle newsmagazine show Evening did their own mini-expose this week where they profiled Redfin and its controversial CEO Glenn Kelman. (You can watch the video here). The program claims that Redfin has sent "shock waves" through the real estate industry by refunding 2/3rds of the buyers commission. 

The show also interviewed a home buying couple in Seattle who claimed that listing agents "wouldn't give us the time of day" because they we working with Redfin; and it profiled star Redfin agent Kelly Engel who claims to be selling up to 4 listings a day due to Redfin's "streamlined" process.

Forced to defend the traditional broker model, Patrick Glimm, an agent with Windermere, says "you get what you pay for" by going with with Redfin and described the difference between a traditional broker and Redfin as "the difference between getting a gift in a Tiffany package or a Kmart package".

Kelman ratchets up the rhetoric and counters by saying "the only way that most Americans can afford a real estate agent's commission is by paying it over 30 years."

Reactions?

via John Cook.

Update: More from Kelman on the Redfin Corporate Blog - turns out he's been named one of the 24 Top innovators by Fortune magazine.

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