Brokerage and referral site Redfin will now have agents on the ground in Las Vegas, where it has operated as a referral site since 2010.
The Seattle-based firm now has agents in 23 markets. In a handful of others — like Tucson, Arizona — it provides only referrals to partner agents working for other brokers and does not have its own agents or brokerage operations, Redfin spokeswoman Amy Musser told Inman News.
Ed Smith, a former team leader for Las Vegas-based Keller Williams Realty the Marketplace and former sales manager for a local homebuilder, will be Redfin’s Las Vegas market manager.
“Redfin’s customer-focused model is a natural fit for me because I have always taken pride in treating my clients like family,” Smith said in a statement.
Consumers can now work with Redfin agents in Las Vegas neighborhoods including North Las Vegas, Centennial Hills, Henderson and Summerlin. Redfin will continue to refer business to partner agents at other brokerages in other neighborhoods.
Redfin provides rebates to buyers and sellers on the commissions its agents earn on a deal. Redfin listing agents give clients up to 15 percent of their commission as a rebate, for example.
In areas where it doesn’t have a salaried agent or if a home falls below a Redfin-set minimum price, Redfin refers deals to partner agents, who pay Redfin a referral fee for the business. Redfin vets its partner agents and continues working only with those who receive high marks from clients; in addition, partner agents earn more when Redfin-sourced clients rate them highly, Redfin says.
Redfin entered Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, in February and works as a brokerage and referral site in 22 other markets across the U.S. including: Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Baltimore; Boston; Charlotte, North Carolina; Chicago; Dallas; Denver; Houston; Las Vegas; Los Angeles area; Minneapolis; New York; Philadelphia; Phoenix; Portland, Oregon; Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina; Sacramento, California; San Diego; San Francisco Bay Area; South Florida; and Washington, D.C.