“a thousand tiny shackles on innovation”
Tuesday, September 5th, 2006The NY Times has a good portrait of another industry fighting innovation; this time, it’s real estate.
In February, [Redfin] introduced a Web site that automates the bidding process — and the commission rebates. The sale of a $500,000 house, for example, typically yields a 3 percent commission of $15,000 for the buyer’s agent. A Redfin customer would get $10,000 back.
“At that point we became a true pariah to the industry,” said Rob McGarty, Redfin’s director of West Coast operations.