Flat-fee real estate brokerage Redefy wants to make it easier for prospective homesellers to list their home without the help of a real estate agent.
The Colorado-headquartered company’s new do-it-yourself (DIY) listing platform will allow homeowners to list their home with 10 photos on the local multiple listing service — plus listing portals including Zillow, realtor.com and others — as well as get all necessary contracts, disclosures and addendums and even yard signs for the cost of $379.
The new Redefy flat-fee, DIY listing service launches today in Florida and Texas, and the company plans to take it nationwide next.
Chris Rediger, CEO of Redefy | Credit: Redefy
“In an environment where customers are demanding easier and more cost-efficient ways to sell their home, we are excited to expand our service offerings to include a ‘Do-It-Yourself’ platform,” Chris Rediger, CEO of Redefy said in a statement. “We believe the residential real estate industry is on the cusp of significant innovation that will make it faster, easier and less expensive for homeowners to sell real estate.”
Rediger compared the innovation to recent trends in stock buying, noting it wasn’t long ago when consumers had to call a stockbroker to buy and sell securities, but can now make trades quickly and easily through apps. It’s a comparison that’s likely to rankle many real estate agents.
“Today, they can accomplish the same task entirely online, in less time and at a lower cost,” Rediger said. “We believe the innovation introduced through RedefyDIY will transform how homeowners sell their residential real estate.”
The DIY-platform comes in at three different price points, all which offer varying services.
There’s the aforementioned $379 package, but for $499, a seller gets the same benefits plus email, text and live chat support, as well as 15 additional photos on the listing.
For a flat-rate of $2,995, the seller gets all those benefits plus the support of a virtual agent and a professional photographer. The virtual agent can assist in contract review, negotiation and closing services.
With the average seller paying a fee of 6 percent of the total sale – 3 percent to the listing agent and 3 percent to the buyer’s agent – the seller is likely to save big on commission.
Homeowners can start the listing process by visiting the company’s website and typing in their property address. Redefy automatically collects information from multiple data sources to help the seller accurately fill out the information.
Scott Petronis | Credit: eXp Realty
The company also offers a flat-fee listing service with seller’s agents in Colorado; Phoenix, Arizona; Tampa, Florida; Hampton Roads (Virginia and North Carolina); Charlotte, North Carolina; Austin and San Antonio, Texas; and Atlanta, Georgia (Intown); where consumers can list and sell their home for a flat rate of $3,500 (or 1 percent on homes priced at over $1 million) — instead of the industry standard of paying a listing agent around 3 percent.
Redefy has made moves in recent weeks to further establish itself in the increasingly competitive U.S. residential real estate brokerage space.
It hired new chief product and tech officer Scott Petronis away from eXp Realty, the fast-growing cloud-based brokerage, and recently completed a transfer of shares to become a publicly traded company on the OTC exchange (it is seeking to be up-listed to the NASDAQ).
Separately, other rival brokerages are also offering consumers more automated and DIY services, including Redfin with its Redfin Direct online pilot program geared toward servicing would-be buyers without agents, which is live in the Boston area and will soon come to Virginia, according to the company.
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