Redfin is hoping to sign more listing contracts with sellers with a new “Home Dashboard” that provides real-time data on how many people are viewing their property online, what their agent is doing to sell their home, and what the next steps are in the selling process.
Like rival tech-based brokerage ZipRealty, Redfin has been successful in attracting would-be homebuyers with a website that’s easy to use and that serves up more information than many websites operated by more traditional brokers.
While buyers are attracted to information-rich websites, sellers are less likely to find their agent online. In its most recent annual report to investors, ZipRealty said sellers made up about 20 percent of its closed transactions last year, up from 15 percent in 2012.
To attract sellers, last year Redfin rolled out a “Price Whisperer” tool allowing homeowners to test the likelihood that they could sell their home at a given price by polling homebuyers through a Redfin agent.
Screen shot of Redfin’s “Home Dashboard.”
Today, Redfin said that as soon as homeowners have signed a listing agreement, their Home Dashboard will display a checklist of steps to get their home ready for market; real-time website traffic updates; information about similar homes buyers may be comparing to theirs; and area updates on new listings, price changes and sales of nearby homes.
Owners who have not yet signed a listing agreement can take advantage of information served up by the dashboard by claiming their home on Redfin, giving them access to stats on how many similar homes have been listed and sold in the last 30 days, and an estimate of their home’s value based on a automated valuation tool that uses comparable sales.
Redfin, which closed a $50 million funding round in November, announced plans in May to expand into nearly 50 new markets.