June 26, 2008
Redfin Upgrading and Expanding (Again!)
Yes, it’s true, Redfin programmers really never sleep (in a bed anyway). Ever. I mean, how could they, when all they seem to do is make the Redfin site better and better? And build more Sweet Digs blogs for new areas? In fact, I’m beginning to think that no one at Redfin corporate ever sleeps, given their dedication and expansion efforts. No wonder CEO Glenn Kelman needs fancy airbrushed makeup when he does a TV interview, he’s gotta cover up the bags under his eyes.
So what have the Seattle and SF bunch been up to lately? Well they just released Redfin 4.7, their fourth major site release in the past five months.
On the Redfin search site, they have incorporated Google Street View and zoom-in capability on the map of each listing. And when viewing a Sold listing, there is more information for you to help decide if it is a true comparable property, including having the sales history front and center, as well as neighborhood comps for a sold property.
For Buyers, there are better Tour with Redfin and Prepare an Offer messages on each detail page and they have updated the Offer Wizard to allow potential customers to see how it works without having to go through registration. They have also done some spiffing up on Customer pages with new visual designs, more messages and more details.
Redfin has also added another 4,000,000+ homes to their search areas, which includes Santa Cruz and Monterey counties in California.
On the technical side, they sped up the details pages, fixed the Google page sitemap for SEO, added Firefox 3 support & post to Facebook, let users se
arch for MLS-listed foreclosures, and added infrastructure for tracking how different conversion messages work. (See what I mean about them never getting any sleep?) Glenn Kelman writes about this today on the corporate blog.
Oh, and Redfin has added a new territory: Welcome the Windy City to the list of cities Redfin now covers. An official Redfin brokerage has opened in Chicago, over 100,000 listings and 1.7 million properties are loaded up and ready to view, and a Chicago Sweet Digs and Chicago forum have been launched. We wish them all success, and can’t wait for a Giants vs. Cubs game!
Sasha said:
spellcheck your ad!
June 26, 2008 3:14 PM
susan.brady said:
Sasha, could you be more specific? My spellcheck went through fine. I don’t see anything amiss. And since when is it so wrong to toot the horn of the company that pays for this blog, so that you don’t have to look at any annoying ads or pop-ups? You might be surprised to learn that many of our readers actually use Redfin to do searches, and to buy homes, and are interested in Firefox updates and new ways to find foreclosed homes.
June 26, 2008 6:27 PM
MD Account said:
I think she’s referencing the first few words — “yes, it’s is true” — in which the “is” is redundant.
That said, I’m delighted to read about the upgrades, which allowed me to finally install Firefox 3. Since I’m using Redfin to support my house hunt, it was more important to have access to the site than to have the latest version of my browser.
You guys are doing great work and my life, for one, is a lot easier because of it. Thanks!
June 27, 2008 1:06 AM
Susan Brady said:
Thanks MD! Neither Word nor the Wordpress caught that mistake, nor did my sleepy eagle eyes.
June 27, 2008 8:35 AM
Parag said:
Love the Street view!!
June 27, 2008 3:46 PM
susan.brady said:
that’s exactly as I saw Wrigley Field for the first time 5 years ago. Everyone swarming to get to a game, bars hopping, sunny day. Just wish I could have gotten tickets for a game…
June 28, 2008 7:39 AM