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Redfin Launches in Canada with Full-Service Agents in Toronto and National Home Search Site

RDFN | February 12, 2019

Canada NewsWire

TORONTO, Feb. 12, 2019

For the First Time Ever, Torontonians Can Sell Homes at a One Percent Listing Fee with Full-Service Local Redfin Agents

TORONTO, Feb. 12, 2019 /CNW/ -- (NASDAQ: RDFN) -- Today, Redfin began serving homebuyers and sellers in the greater Toronto area with full-service agents at a one percent listing fee; and the company also launched a national Canadian real estate search site at www.redfin.ca. The tech-powered real estate brokerage plans to launch in Vancouver this spring and expand to other Canadian cities in the future.

Redfin Logo (PRNewsfoto/Redfin)

"I'm not sure when I've seen the people at Redfin as excited as we are today to open for business in Toronto," said Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman. "Many of us have lived, worked or traveled in Canada, and we're excited to give the people here our best service, good value, and all the benefits of our technology."

By meeting customers through the Redfin website and using technology to make the buying and selling process more efficient, Redfin's local agents are able to provide full service and charge a lower fee. In Toronto, Redfin will sell homes for just a 1 percent listing fee and refund a portion of its commission to its home-buying clients.

Redfin agents are employees, who are paid a salary and receive bonuses based in part on customer-satisfaction, which makes them accountable to deliver results for their clients. Redfin customers are asked to review the service they received from their Redfin agents and the reviews are published on the agents' online profiles.

"At Redfin, we put the customer at the center of everything we do. Our technology makes it easier to buy and sell for clients, and our business model rewards agents for delivering the best service," said Blair Anderson, who will run Redfin's real estate operations in Toronto. Anderson brings over a decade of local real estate experience to the Redfin team.

"Canadians are discerning and tech-savvy, and I suspect they'll be very receptive to Redfin's unmatched combination of agent service, technology and value. Especially given today's shifting Canadian real estate market, buyers and sellers will appreciate the transparency of the data Redfin provides on recent home sales and market trends. When you combine that information with our agents' local expertise, Redfin helps consumers make more informed decisions about the big questions like when to sell or what to offer on a new home," Anderson said.

On www.redfin.ca and Redfin's mobile apps, customers can now search all the agent-listed homes for sale in most provinces and see sale prices of homes in the greater Toronto area, data that for years had been unavailable to consumers online. With Redfin's Book It Now feature, homebuyers can schedule a home showing with a Redfin agent with a few taps on a smartphone.

Redfin is launching with a 1-percent listing fee for home sellers in Toronto. By working with a local Redfin agent, a seller in Toronto will save $11,250 on a $750,000 home sale when compared to paying a listing commission of 2.5 percent. For every listing, including Redfin's first listing in the market, Redfin agents provide a complete home-selling service that includes:

Premier placement on Redfin.ca and syndication to Realtor.ca and other Canadian real estate websites via the Multiple Listing Service
Pricing and staging advice
Free professional photography
3D walkthrough of the home
Open houses
Yard signs
Beautifully designed marketing materials

Because Redfin customers, agents and support staff all work together on Redfin's proprietary tech platform, Redfin can provide a consistent experience for every customer and offer unique tools and data that no other brokerage can. Today, Redfin is rolling out many of its popular features in Canada, including:

Book It Now: A first of its kind in Canada, this tool lets you book a home showing with a Redfin agent with a few clicks.
Instant Updates: Get notifications by email or on your mobile device when new homes are listed or prices drop.
Deal Room: A real-time guide through the closing process, including milestones, tasks and deadlines, which keeps you informed at every step.
Shared Search: Collaborate on home search with your partner or co-buyer by sharing favourite listings, commenting on each other's favourites and getting input from your agent and other advisers.
Draw Your Own Search: Customize your search by drawing a line around the exact area you want to search for homes.
Open House Notifications and Scheduler: Save a list of upcoming open houses and sign up to be alerted when you are near a favourite listing with an open house.
Tour Insights: See notes from Redfin agents about homes they've toured.
Offer Insights: See real-time statistics and notes from Redfin agents about offers submitted on behalf of Redfin clients.
Agent Profiles and History: Review Redfin agents' past customer reviews and real estate experience.

Over time, Redfin expects to bring additional services and features to Canada, including:

Redfin Estimate: Provides a highly accurate automated calculation of the market value of an individual home.
Redfin Hot Homes: Helps Redfin buyers know when to act fast by informing them if a home is likely to sell in two weeks or less based on our proprietary algorithm.
Search by School: Shows all homes for sale served by a particular school.
Compete Score: Helps buyers understand how likely they are to face competition for homes in a given area.

Visit www.redfin.ca to start searching for homes and to get connected to a Redfin agent in Toronto. Download the Redfin app for iOS and Android.

About Redfin Canada
Redfin (www.redfin.ca) is a technology-powered, residential brokerage with a mission to redefine real estate in the consumer's favor. Redfin is now available in Toronto and will soon launch brokerage services in Vancouver, joining more than 85 markets throughout the United States where Redfin already serves homebuyers and sellers. Redfin's iOS and Android mobile apps and the Canadian version of its industry-leading website allow consumers to search for homes for sale across most of Canada. In a commission-driven industry, Redfin's local, full-service agents put the customer first. By pairing Redfin agents with technology, Redfin offers a service that is faster, better, and costs less. Redfin is headquartered in Seattle and Redfin stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol "RDFN."