It sure is nice to be talking about something other than Zillow this week…
Redfin rolled out their First-to-Know program today, where they post a particular property on their blog, the idea being to create a Myspace-like profile for properties about to go on the market (but hopefully without the annoying music and seizure-inducing animations).
Buyers pocket most of the buyer’s agent commission (nearly $9000 if the seller gets what he’s asking for) – if they jump on the property before it lists.The idea is loosely based on the Finnish site igglo which allows people to put bids on homes that aren’t currently for sale.
The concept is an interesting one and this move is a tentative dip in the water, though hardly revolutionary.
The fact that owner has already decided to sell his condo and already decided on a list price, makes the overall exercise largely redundant (though not unprofitable to any interested parties). I would like to see the concept being far more useful if you could create a profile of your home, including all the “unzillowable” selling features, of course – in order to gauge at what price the market would be willing to buy your property.
Nevertheless, I’m all for new twists on old ideas, and I’m sure this isn’t the last time we’ll hear of First-to-Know.
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