Redfin's Kelman: The real estate industry is still screwed up |
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Redfin's Kelman: The real estate industry is still screwed up
Kelman
Nearly two years ago, Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman appeared on "60 Minutes" and famously declared that real estate is the "most screwed up industry in America." Well, it appears that Kelman's opinion hasn't changed much. The outspoken tech executive repeated the claim in The Globe and Mail over the weekend with a slightly softer tone. Kelman had some other choice comments in the piece, pointing out that Redfin is simply trying to bring the real estate industry, which he called "totally inefficient," into the 21st century.
Kelman also said that the industry doesn't hate Redfin as much as they used to:
We thought we could be a cold and austere website, a factory where the lights go off and the robots work all night. But that hasn't worked – everything we wanted to do wasn't right and the industry wasn't all wrong. We had something valuable – a better site. And every decision we make is informed by the idea that we're not going to screw the customer.
The real problem is people don't trust agents, they think they are only after a commission on the most important purchase of their life and pressuring them to make the wrong decision. The whole model hasn't put the customer first. People used to hate us and they still do – just not as much because I'm not as cocky as I used to be. The opening move was to give the industry the finger – I said real estate was the most screwed-up industry in America, that it only exists to charge a commission on the most important buying decision you'll ever make.
Redfin, which raised $10 million in venture funding last November, posted its first profits last year and exceeded a $20 million revenue run rate. Full interview here.
About John Cook
John Cook is co-founder and executive editor of TechFlash. He has been covering the technology beat for nearly a decade, writing about startups, entrepreneurs and venture capital, most recently serving as a reporter/blogger at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
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