For Online Brokerage, A New Twist on Tradition

One agent who's worked across from Redfin on a recent home sale is Windermere's Debra Sinick.

"I was pleasantly surprised," Sinick said of the way Redfin handled the transaction.

As other agents began softening toward the new firm, Redfin itself began operating more like a traditional brokerage, Kelman confessed.

Prodded by their own customers, "We've really had to embrace the personal side of the business," he said. "We've had to scrub up because clients wanted to drop by. We've put the phone number on the site. We didn't used to do this."

And customers let the firm know that they wanted home tours. They're now available in a limited way.

Redfin's agents are moving closer to the 24/7, work-till-the-deal's-done model, too.

"Just because the Web site says we stop at 6 doesn't mean that's when we stop," confided Redfin agent Rob McGarty. "I've worked past 10, 11 at night on deals; many agents here have, too."

They help their buyers and sellers with negotiations, contingencies, inspections, all the way to escrow closing.

In the beginning, the firm figured its customers overwhelmingly would be young, Internet-savvy first-time buyers. But as Howard discovered, "everyone is Internet-savvy."

Among her clients are a retired professor, an architect, a doctor; the deals she's worked range from modest starter townhouses to million-dollar properties.

"Some of the customers are really on board with our business model," Howard said. "They love it because we're not just starting a new business; we're starting a revolution. It's very invigorating in that sense."

Tim Wissner is one such customer. He and his wife, Tiffany, recently purchased a $900,000 home and got a $20,000 Redfin rebate.

"We're very, very happy with the experience with Redfin," Wissner said. "But that's not to say there's not a place for traditional real estate agents. I can still see there's value there."

That's especially true for clients who want a full-service agent to advise them on every step of what can be a long and emotionally charged experience.

But "for a lot of people in today's market, you do all the heavy lifting searching for houses," Wissner said. He did, and was compensated for it.

That's why Wissner said Redfin's "business model makes sense."