Redfin expands to new markets

Online real estate broker Redfin has expanded into Southern California with the opening of offices in Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego, the company announced today.

Redfin says the expansion increased the number of properties for sale on its Web site by more than 340 percent.

The company's business model centers on the use of technology to shave money off the final commission to the consumer. Redfin will refund two-thirds of the commission to Southern California buyers who work with the company.

The refund is determined by the price of the commission, which is based on the home price. Redfin's other markets include Seattle and the San Francisco Bay Area. Redfin says that the average customer in Northern California has received a refund of $13,539.35.

The company offers services to home sellers for a flat fee of $2,000.

"The simultaneous opening of Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego markets inaugurates a new era of expansion for Redfin," said Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman. "We spent our first year of real estate operations building support infrastructure so we could serve customers on a national scale, and making sure that our first expansion market, San Francisco, could contribute profits. With Dave Wilner now running real estate operations, Microsoft Virtual Earth as a national map platform, and a new customer database coming online just last week, we're ready to grow nationwide."

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