Breaking News....well for some people... Redfin & Re/Max have...

By
Real Estate Agent with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties 01238708

Breaking News, well for some people Redfin & Re/Max have….

Red Flags if I ever saw!!!!

www.endrebarath.com

Basically, Redfin and Re/Max have joined,  or should I say created an exclusive Referral Relationship. According to RISEMEDIA, this is a  Referral Relationships between Re/Max Canada and Redfin United States. On the surface you would say: sow  what is the big deal?

Well just to be clear Re/Max Canada virtually the entire country will be exclusively a Redfin Referral Partner. Now this is where it gets interesting, just to be clear I have many friends and Referral Partners who happen to be affiliated with Re/Max all over the Globe.

As a Berkshire Hathaway Beverly Hills Realtor, no one tells me who I “must work with,” no one forces me to have a mandatory “referral relationship” with. The focus is on for me to produce and whoever  I find and happens to be the best agent who will represent the interest of my clients get the referral. I have had Coldwell Banker Agents I referred business to as well as  Independent Brokers, I referred business to. Every one of these referrals were based on what was in the best interest of my clients.

Thanks to Active Rain  I have developed a vast  Network for referrals all over the United States, as well as in Canada, they were all based on my interactions with these agents on the Active Rain Platform. Just to be clear, I get weekly inquiries from  fellow agents on the Berkshire Hathaway internal email blast platform, they are agents, who are looking for other agent that are perceived as good referrals in other parts of the United States. If I know of a good one let’s say as an example  in Ohio, North Carolina, Connecticut or Massachusetts , well guess what, I have  people I can trust and know will do an outstanding job. They get the introduction and then it is up to them to work things out. What is my reward for this?  Nothing, just the knowledge, that I connected a person with a seasoned Realtor who will take good care of their client?

At the same time, I also know Active Rain members who I would never refer a client to, because I know they cheated their fellow Active Rain friends  out of a Referral Fee… (Sadly that person is still on this platform), but I am digressing. I also know of members who are phony baloneys, they talk a good game, but they are missing the benefit of this platform, building referral relationships and friendships, their focus is on amassing points, seriously, gaining points is not a determiner who gets my referral recommendation, it is based on skill sets, personality and client relationship. Most of us can see on this platform who is the real deal and who is not. That is the beauty of blogging and commenting from a position of knowledge and caring.

Now getting back to my point:

“This is an exclusive partnership, so in most of Canada, this is something that agents at other competing brands will not have access to in terms of consumer-facing referral leads and also at a discounted rate,” says Karri Callahan, CFO of RE/MAX. “In the U.S., we’re looking to capture the consumer traffic on Redfin’s industry-leading website and help to transition that to high-quality professional RE/MAX agents, which helps provide a quality customer experience.

So, with that said, what happened to RESPA? What happened to partnering with a Company whose owner 20 years ago said “ I will eliminate Realtors…”  say “disruptor”? Who happened to get his Broker License to achieve is ultimate goal to eliminate Realtors….? Would you work with this person? Not alone sign a two year business agreement with?

Anyway, look forward to all your comments favorable or unfavorable to my post, this is not Twitter or Facebook I do not eliminate dissenting opinions….

If you are looking for a knowledgeable, focused and goal-oriented Realtor in the Beverly Hills area who will help you achieve your Real Estate goals, please reach out to me directly!

If you are looking for a pet friendly Beverly Hills Realtor who can handle and sell the most difficult properties that no one else could, please reach out to me directly!! If you are considering buying or selling a home, a luxury home, luxury investment real estate, luxury vacation homes, or luxury beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu, feel free to contact me at 310.486.1002 (m) or homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com  I contribute a portion of my commission to local animal rescue organizations.

 

 

Comments (110)

Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Kevin Mackessy  at this point I do not see any effect on the Denver Market, down the road maybe a different story, Endre

Mar 21, 2019 05:38 PM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Carla Muss-Jacobs, RETIRED  it has been a while, nice to see you and I did see that, you should write a post about it, Endre

Mar 21, 2019 06:25 PM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Georgie Hunter R(S) 58089  not yet anyway:)Endre

Mar 21, 2019 06:26 PM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Jennifer Fivelsdal  anytime I get an email blast I am on it trying to send an Active Rain connection if they are good, Endre

Mar 21, 2019 06:28 PM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Lise Howe  you make a great point about Anti Trust....Endre

Mar 21, 2019 06:29 PM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Debe Maxwell, CRS  my concern is on two levels:

(1) one the Anti Trust issue making a financial agreement with another Broker to be the exclusive provider of Referrals.

(2)The second issue, that making an agreement with a known and outspoken person who intends to eliminate Realtors is short sighted.... 

As to the watered down justification.... the reality is, they are an Internet based company with phone operations mostly and not offices in the states that they operate in.Hence it is not an issue of over abundant leads. The issue is they have no boots on the ground... so with that said you and I can disagree, Endre

Mar 21, 2019 06:47 PM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

M.C. Dwyer  you make a good point and indeed it is not necessarily a RESPA  issue. It is more an ANTI TRUST issue making an exclusive relationship with two Brokers only and giving reduced aka fixed referral fees is just bordering on other problems... my real concern to boil it down is what I said in comment #93 above, Endre

Mar 21, 2019 06:52 PM
Debe Maxwell, CRS
Savvy + Company (704) 491-3310 - Charlotte, NC
The RIGHT CHARLOTTE REALTOR!

Hi Endre! So, we do have a Redfin office here in Charlotte - and a good number of agents. So, we aren't 'qualified' to be partners here. I'm sure there are other large cities that have offices as well.

Also, the exclusive referral agreement is not an anit-trust issue. Basically, the bottom is that the REDFIN web leads (referred to as 'referrals') are exclusive to RE/MAX agents. And, it is primarily in areas that don't have Redfin offices to cover their overflow leads. 

So, if you've been referring clients to Redfin agents, you can continue to do so and they can refer to you - this is ONLY for web leads, not agent-generated referrals. As you shared, “In the U.S., we’re looking to capture the consumer traffic on Redfin’s industry-leading website..."

To your second point - I personally don't see their model being successful thus far (at least not here and they've been here at least a decade). What IS successful is their website; those leads are owned by the company so, actual 'referring' agents are not involved - they are dispersed as leads. I see them being swallowed up by another larger firm during the next downturn.

Mar 21, 2019 08:40 PM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Matthew Klinowski, PA  we are on the same page, Endre

Mar 21, 2019 10:35 PM
Jim Holder
HomeSmart Connect - Arlington Heights, IL
REALTOR EMERITUS, ABR,ePRO,CNC,SFR,

From my view, there are notable changes evolving in the large franchises, and they're not positive ones for real estate practitioners. I've seen a few things and learned a few things in my 40+ years as a Realtor. (was 30 years with one of the largest)

Mar 23, 2019 06:47 AM
Myrl Jeffcoat
Sacramento, CA
Greater Sacramento Realtor - Retired

I agree with all those who commented about this development breaking our anti-trust laws.  It will be interesting to watch this development and see where it goes.

May 08, 2019 02:51 AM
Paula Hathaway, REALTOR, LBA
Douglas Elliman Real Estate - Southampton, NY
...A Local Expert in all The Hamptons

Hi Endre: Very interesting--and will be something to watch. Anti-trust is a major factor with Z in this area but they escape the charges somehow...there have been a number of big lawsuits by the public that Z won simply because they have a powerful lobby in Washington....Please keep us informed on this. It will be fascinating to see how it all unfolds. Thanks for a very interesting post!

May 15, 2019 08:30 PM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Debe Maxwell, CRS  I guess it was time for me to respond to your last comment and all I can say  is cut and pasting my own words from the post: 

What happened to partnering with a Company whose owner 20 years ago said “ I will eliminate Realtors…”  say “disruptor”? Who happened to get his Broker License to achieve is ultimate goal to eliminate Realtors….? Would you work with this person? Not alone sign a two year business agreement with?

May 15, 2019 10:02 PM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Debe Maxwell, CRS  & Hannah Williams  I find it ironic how quickly my words came true.... now my take on the latest Re/Max move by separating from Redfin I question the Leadership's ability to make good decisions, they are lucky I am an outsider... if I was in a leadership position in this organization they would get their walking papers...just sayin, Endre

May 15, 2019 10:05 PM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Jim Holder  you make a great point and it is interesting about the latest developments with this partnership....Endre

May 15, 2019 10:14 PM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Myrl Jeffcoat  funny you commented on the 8th  of this month and here it is a few days later there is a divorce already...Endre

May 15, 2019 10:15 PM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Paula Hathaway, REALTOR, LBA  thank you for stopping in on this tread, check out my latest post about this very subject you will find it interesting, Endre 

May 15, 2019 10:17 PM
Hannah Williams
HomeStarr Realty - Philadelphia, PA
Expertise NE Philadelphia & Bucks 215-820-3376

Endre Endre Endre - I may refer to anyone I care to and do  - I am an independent contractor. No one has told me that I must refer my business to anyone. I am free to refer my business to anyone I choose. If Redfin chooses to refer their business to Re/Max agents because they feel they are top notch agents they are free to do so. - If I have a buyer or seller looking in your area I would refer to you my friend. 

May 16, 2019 10:33 AM
Hannah Williams
HomeStarr Realty - Philadelphia, PA
Expertise NE Philadelphia & Bucks 215-820-3376

Endre Barath, Jr.  I do not understand why you are so quick to jump all over my franchise I would not dream of criticizing the workings of someone's Real Estate company Redfin is not even in my area. We get enough abuse from the public we do not need it from within. We as a group should respect each other and our business practices 

May 16, 2019 10:49 AM
Hannah Williams
HomeStarr Realty - Philadelphia, PA
Expertise NE Philadelphia & Bucks 215-820-3376

Weltanschauung 

#8

  1. We believe in spirited discourse, but personal attacks or predatory behavior will not be tolerated. Respect and civility are the shared values that unite us all.
May 16, 2019 05:18 PM