Redfin Survey: Nearly One in Five Homebuyers Last Year Made an Offer Sight Unseen

SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Nineteen percent of people who bought a home in the past year made a bid
on a home before seeing it in person, according to new survey data from
Redfin (www.redfin.com),
the next-generation real estate brokerage. The survey
of more than 2,000 people who bought or sold a home in the past year was
conducted by SurveyMonkey Audience and commissioned by Redfin.

Buyers of high-end homes were almost twice as likely to have made an
offer on a home sight unseen. Among people who bought homes for more
than $750,000, 39 percent made an offer without seeing a home in person.

Bidding sight unseen is likely so prevalent because of market forces
like bidding wars and fast home-selling speeds, but technology plays a
role too. Brokerage websites and apps like Redfin alert people about
homes for sale as soon as they are listed and offer high-resolution and
3D photos and lots of information about the home and neighborhood to
help people make informed decisions about a bid. Redfin agents use live
or recorded video tours to help people from out of state, as well as
locals, get a feel for homes they aren’t able to see in person.

Redfin agent Karla Kirkpatrick-Adams recently helped a client from
Alaska purchase a condo in downtown Denver. He did not see the home in
person until after closing.

“We did a video tour the day the condo hit the market. Given his
location and the speed of the market in Denver, a sight-unseen offer was
the only option to buy the home before it went under contract,” said
Kirkpatrick-Adams. “This condo carried minimal risk because it is in a
high-rise that has a solid association maintaining the building.
Purchasing a single family home would carry more risk with the potential
for latent defects or other issues.”

Redfin agents offer some recommendations for homebuyers making offers
sight unseen:

• Hire a real estate agent whom you trust and communicate well with.
• Have a trusted friend or family member see the home for you, if
  possible.
• Ask your agent to point out aspects and features of the home that
  aren’t easily captured in photographs.
• Include inspection and other contingencies in your offer.
• Use video technology to stream and record home tours and the
  inspection.

To read the full report, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/blog/2016/09/bidding-blind-nearly-one-in-five-homebuyers-made-an-offer-before-seeing-home-in-person.html.

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About Redfin Corporation

Redfin (www.redfin.com)
is the next-generation real estate brokerage, combining its own
full-service agents with modern technology to redefine real estate in
the customer’s favor. Founded by software engineers, Redfin has the
country’s #1 brokerage website and offers a host of online tools to
consumers, including the most accurate home-value estimate online, the Redfin
Estimate. Homebuyers and sellers enjoy a full-service,
technology-powered experience from Redfin real estate agents, while
saving thousands in commissions. Redfin serves more than 80 major metro
areas across the U.S. The company has closed more than $31 billion in
home sales to date, and saved customers more than $335 million in fees,
and counting.

For more information or to contact a local Redfin real estate agent,
visit www.redfin.com.
To learn about housing market trends and download data, visit the Redfin
Data Center.

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Contacts

Redfin Journalist Services
Alina Ptaszynski, 206-588-6863
press@redfin.com