But it won't be hiring rental agents, for now
Redfin has signed an agreement to purchase Atlanta-based RentPath for $608 million in cash.
Once approved by the Federal Trade Commission and a bankruptcy court, the deal will boost Redfin’s traffic by attracting a younger audience of renters to Redfin.com. The real estate brokerage also aims to grow its brand and compete with the biggest brokerage portals on every front.
“RentPath has more than 20,000 apartment buildings on its rental websites and grew its traffic more than 25% last year,” Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman said in a statement. “We can almost double that audience, as one in five of Redfin.com’s 40+ million monthly visitors also wants to see homes for rent. Together with RentPath, we can create an online destination for every North American to find a home.”
Kelman said that Redfin will “welcome customers who pay RentPath a fee to list their communities on RentPath’s sites” but also pilot a program for property managers to pay only for a signed lease. Redfin also announced that RentPath’s 250-person sales team continue to represent renters in the portal as it is still not in the position to employ rental agents.
“By acquiring RentPath, Redfin will be as committed as we are to the rental market,” said Dhiren Fonseca, RentPath’s CEO. “As part of the Redfin family, our platform will be well-positioned to lead the market in the quality and value of our products while giving our current and future customers access to many more high-intent renters through Redfin’s extensive network.”
RentPath’s rental listings are expected to show up on Redfin.com in late 2022. RentPath is the owner of ApartmentGuide.com, Rent.com, and Rentals.com.
