RALEIGH – If the Triangle real estate market wasn’t already competitive enough, now there’s a new entrant, RedfinNow, the iBuyer platform operated by Redfin (NASDAQ: RDFN).
The company announced today in a statement that it will launch its iBuying service in the Charlotte and Raleigh metropolitan areas, providing would-be home sellers with an all-cash offer and their choice of closing date between 10 and 90 days from offer acceptance.
“Raleigh and Charlotte are major migration destinations and people will continue to move to these areas for job opportunities, new remote work possibilities, retirement and lower cost of living, driving demand for homes and price growth well into next year and beyond,” said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist, Redfin, in an interview with WRAL TechWire. “Heading into fall, both markets have cooled down slightly from the frenzied competition in the spring and summer, which is what we’d expect at this time of year before things pick back up next spring.”
The iBuyer is among the top four companies competing in the iBuying market nationally, along with Opendoor, Zillow Offers, and Offerpad, all of which are already actively purchasing homes in Charlotte and in the Triangle.
“Nationwide, we predict a return to a slightly more normal housing market in 2022,” Fairweather said. “Prices will rise, but not by the double digits we saw this year.”
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Redfin also provides an option for homeowners to list their property on the open market, the company said in its statement, for a listing fee as low as 1%.
“The process of listing your home can be stressful, especially for sellers who also need to buy in ultra-competitive markets like Raleigh and Charlotte,” said Jason Aleem, vice president of RedfinNow in a statement. “Part of what makes RedfinNow different is our ability to educate sellers on all of their options in a single conversation,” said Aleem.
Here’s what Redfin is looking to purchase, according to the company’s statement:
“RedfinNow is initially making offers on single family homes and townhomes built after 1950 in select neighborhoods in Mecklenburg, Alamance, Chatham, Wake and Orange counties. In addition, the company will make offers on condos in select neighborhoods in Orange and Wake counties.”
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But that geographic area could change, Alina Ptaszynski, a spokesperson for Redfin told WRAL TechWire.
“We fully expect to move into Durham in the next few months as we build our local team and capacity,” said Ptaszynski. “We typically start with a more narrow geographic footprint and “buy-box” and expand over time to include more neighborhoods and more types of homes, including older homes.”
