Last year, Redfin rolled out a new service called “Redfin Concierge,” where the online brokerage will “deep clean” and stage a home on a homeowner’s behalf to aid in the sale of the property, all for a 2% listing fee.
The program originally launched in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., before expanding into San Francisco in February of this year.
And now, Redfin is bringing the enhanced listing program to its own backyard of Seattle.
According to Karen Krupsaw, Redfin’s senior vice president of real estate operations, the market in Seattle is shifting away from sellers toward buyers, making a program like this an attractive alternative to the traditional listing method.
“With homes taking longer to sell and buyers becoming more selective, Redfin Concierge gives sellers peace of mind knowing their home will put its best foot forward,” Krupsaw said.
“Determining which projects will yield the biggest return, finding trustworthy vendors, gathering quotes, managing timelines and overseeing work is stressful and time consuming,” Krupsaw continued. “With Redfin Concierge, you sign off on the plan, give us the keys, and then rest easy with the knowledge that the Redfin experts are taking care of all the details. And with Redfin Concierge, you still pay less than the typical listing commission charged by other brokerages.”
According to Redfin, with its enhanced listing program, the company pays for “deep cleaning, de-cluttering and staging” on a property. But if a property is in need of painting, landscaping, or other minor improvements, the program will cover that instead – all for that 2% listing fee.
The company’s normal listing fee in Seattle is 1%.
“Last year, the majority of homes in Seattle received multiple offers and sold quickly regardless of condition. That is no longer the case,” said Jessie Culbert, a Redfin agent in Seattle.
“Sellers recognize they will be more successful by investing in improvements and staging to put their home in the best light possible,” Culbert added. “As an agent, I always give my clients guidance on how to prepare their home for sale, but Redfin Concierge takes it a step further by handling all of those tasks directly.”
