Seattle-based brokerage Redfin is taking its commission-based payment model, Redfin Next, nationwide on Oct. 27. Redfin Next enables agents to keep their W-2 status and benefits while earning competitive commission splits.
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After several expansions over the past 11 months, Seattle-based brokerage Redfin is taking its commission-based payment model nationwide. Starting Oct. 27, all Redfin agents will have access to Redfin Next, which enables agents to keep their full-time W-2 status and traditional benefits while getting variable commission splits of 70 to 75 percent based on the average home price in their market.
With Redfin Next, Redfin still covers agents’ business expenses, provides a 401k alongside medical and stock equity benefits, and offers technology, support programs and leads.
Jason Aleem. Image: Redfin
“We’re fully committing to Redfin Next because it has played a significant role in transforming our business and propelling our growth,” Redfin Chief of Real Estate Services Jason Aleem said in a blog Monday morning. “Redfin Next has empowered our agents to amplify their businesses and unlocked the opportunity for them to earn more money, while also inspiring other entrepreneurial agents to join us.”
“Having the best agents in the industry is critical to our mission to make real estate better for consumers, and with Redfin Next, we know we can continue to grow our impact,” he added.
Aleem said Redfin Next has significantly improved the brokerage’s retention and recruitment efforts, with top producers in their biggest markets breaking seven figures in commissions in 2024.
“I have always made a great living at Redfin, but under Redfin Next I’m setting and exceeding goals that I never knew were possible,” Orange County-based Redfin agent Maryam Amiri said in a written statement. “When I talk to other agents, they can’t believe the quality of technology, marketing, and leads I get for free through Redfin on top of the other employee benefits. Redfin understands that when those things are taken care of, I am free to focus on my customers and let my expertise shine. I’ve never been so confident in the future of my business.”
Glenn Kelman
In August, Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman said Redfin Next was an integral part of the brokerage’s growth during the second quarter, with market share reaching 0.77 percent of U.S. existing home sales by units — a 2.66 percent increase from Q2 2023. The brokerage also added 200 agents across the 36 markets where Redfin Next currently exists.
“The capacity that Next has given us to hire more and better agents, with less financial risk, has been why we could become more disciplined about requiring a lead agent to host the first meeting with a home buyer, in the all-you-can-meet program we launched broadly this spring,” Kelman said. “In years past, Redfin asked the contractors we hired for short-notice property access to handle up to 40 percent of our customers’ first tours. Our lead agents make the Redfin case far better than these contractors.”
“We’ve hired more than 200 top producers over the last six months. Over the next nine months, our lead-agent census is likely to keep increasing, but without the capital risk of salaried agents,” he added. “This month, Next will be how we pay agents in markets that accounted for 74 percent of 2023 revenue, up from 17 percent in January and 30 percent in May.”
Kelman and Aleem have said Redfin Next is also an integral part of Redfin’s post-settlement strategy. The company settled Gibson for $9.25 million on May 6.
“In the wake of the NAR settlement, customers are telling us this is more important to them than ever before,” Aleem said in a previous statement to Inman. “We’ve always been focused on giving consumers a better deal, so we’re well equipped to support them.”
“We believe Redfin Next will be transformational for our brokerage, helping us retain our best agents, recruit top talent, and grow market share faster through both the ups and downs in the market,” he added.
The brokerage is hosting a reservation-only webinar about Redfin Next’s nationwide expansion on Sept. 26.
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