Redfin has begun marketing the listings of a Chicago-area homebuilder, the second company to sign on to a custom listing service for builders the brokerage launched last fall.
Redfin Builder Services, a listing service offered by Redfin that promises to bring “massive exposure” to homebuilders’ listings, has signed Nitti Development, a builder in the northwest Chicago suburbs, according to a Redfin blog post.
Redfin said it will work with Nitti to market Berteau Development in Elmhurst, a community that features 56 single-family homes ranging in price from $819,000 to over $1 million. Redfin agent Dave Fidanza will be the community sales manager.
Redfin launched builder services in November, signing its first client in Seattle.
The service publishes a builder’s listings on Redfin.com, offers targeted email marketing and customer relationship management capabilities and provides data-driven market research that builders can use to determine how many homes to build and how to price them.
Many real estate agents are wary of showing new homes to buyers because builders are sometimes reluctant to pay a full commission to agents who bring buyers to model-home showrooms.
But builders have been seeking to improve relations with real estate brokers for access to more buyers — overtures that, in the face of inventory shortages, real estate professionals may be receptive to.
Multiple listing services run by real estate brokers often won’t allow new homes to be listed in an MLS until construction is completed.
Austin-based startup Builders Update provides information on new homes to members of two MLSs — the Austin Board of Realtors and My Florida Regional MLS — connecting consumers to real estate agents instead of builders.
Homebuilder marketing company Builders Digital Experience Inc. (BDX) — a joint venture between Builder Homesite and realtor.com operator Move Inc. — announced last year that 16 MLSs had agreed to provide their members with new-home communities and plans data through a branded “new home channel” accessible via their MLS dashboard.
Redfin added new-home listings sourced from BDX’s NewHomeSource.com in March.
Realtor.com, the official listing portal of the National Association of Realtors, expanded its coverage of new-home listings last year, thanks to “historic” changes to the 1996 agreement between NAR and Move that governs operation of the website.
Trulia and Zillow get listings directly from builders through NewHomeFeed.com.
