Redfin takes on Zillow with $100 million IPO

Online real estate firm Redfin is planning to take things up a notch by going public on the NYSE

Redfin takes on Zillow with $100 million IPO
Online real estate firm Redfin is planning to take things up a notch by going public on the NYSE.

The firm has filed papers with the SEC for an IPO with the hope of raising up to $100 million. It is being advised by Goldman Sachs and will be hoping for a ‘David v. Goliath’ battle with Zillow, which is around three times its size.

In Redfin’s prospectus it says:

“Redfin is a technology-powered residential real estate brokerage. We represent people buying and selling homes in over 80 markets throughout the United States. Our mission is to redefine real estate in the consumer’s favor.”
 
Redfin launched home-buying and selling services in Seattle and the Bay Area in 2006 having started out as a map-search tech firm. It has continued to expand both geographically and as a business since and has helped customers buy or sell more than 75,000 homes worth more than $40 billion through 2016.

Revenue in 2016 was up 43% to $267 million compared to the previous year but it will be entering the public-listed environment at a time when investors are dovish on technology-centered stocks.

However, the firm may pique the interest of investors by having a strong element of human involvement through its team of real estate professionals, something that its SEC filing states, along with a clear mission for its role in what is calls the “highlight fragmented” real estate industry.

“Our goal is to build the first large-scale brokerage that stands apart in consumers’ minds for delivering a unique and consistent customer experience, where the value is in our brokerage and its technologies, not just a personal relationship with one agent,” the prospectus says.