Like most things from Redfin, this looks to be nicely done. I’ve long been a fan of theirs and we even purchased our home in San Diego through Redfin!

I hope to see it in action, in person at some point, but from what I can read about it so far, it looks like they’ve taken a different approach towards on demand showings than we did. This is understandable given their different business model vs the traditional real estate brokerage that Curb Call is geared for.

Curb Call is designed to let agents set their own schedule of availability for showing requests, in realtime, as free time happens. This suits a traditional real estate agent well because their days are unpredictable. (That’s one thing I vividly remember from my days as an agent!) Sometimes you find yourself with some free time, and in that free time, you can use Curb Call to go available. Showing requests are routed in realtime through our platform to the agent that the buyer requests or the agent who is best suited for the showing based on proximity, travel time or expertise.

On the flipside, it appears that the Redfin solution actually schedules their agents to be available at particular times throughout the work week ahead. That works for Redfin because their agents and other team members are employees. That wouldn’t suit the traditional agent but is a nice solution for Redfin agents and consumers.

I find it validating to see other players recognizing the trend towards catering to buyers who want showings on short notice. More and more buyers are handling the early part of the search process on their own. When the time comes to view listings in person, it’s a good opportunity for agents to get face to face in order to earn these buyers are clients. It eliminates the awkwardness that comes from agents having to try to earn online shoppers are clients too.

I also agree with Redfin’s assumption that in the near future, more and more requests for showings will be requests for same-hour entries. Since that’s the only type of request we cater to, I can personally attest to the reality of that trend.

Overall, I agree with Drew that this is a “win” for consumers and a nice move for Redfin.

I get the want for convenience that “on demand” offers, but I do not think this is a win for consumers. In most cases they will end up having representation from untested, inexperienced agents. Might a consumer have to wait a minute to get my representation? Yes. But in the end they will make up all that time by having the guidance of an experienced agent throughout their incredibly costly, fragile and complicated transaction. I know the value I bring. So do my past clients.