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Redfin is allowing more home buyers to tour homes for sale on their own without an agent. Its expansion of the Direct Access Home tours brings the program to 22 markets and introduces a partnership with the security firm ADT to provide 24/7 monitoring and smart-home devices for these self-guided home tours.
Potential buyers who use tour Direct Access vacant homes without an agent can use a Redfin app to unlock the door. ADT will add smart locks and sensors to allow buyers to enter and tour the home. Sellers will be able to monitor who enters and exits their property.
Redfin launched Direct Access on vacant seller homes in select markets last year. The company says that homes in the Direct Access program get double the number of tours, on average, compared with other homes on the market. Redfin says it plans to roll out the service to all U.S. markets where it has a presence.
“In this hot market, more than a third of homes are finding a buyer within the first week and buyers are hustling to see new homes as quickly as possible,” Bridget Frey, Redfin’s chief technology officer, told Security System News. “Direct Access Makes it simple to tour our sellers’ homes conveniently and safely without having to coordinate with an agent to schedule a showing, driving double the foot traffic that leads to offers for our sellers.”
Home buyers who purchase a Direct Access home with the ADT smart-home security systems installed have the option of keeping the smart lock, ADT security panel, and sensors, which are valued at $899. But they will need to sign up for ADT’s smart-home security monitoring services to activate the devices.
Redfin says it takes other precautions in the self-guided buyer tours. It also verifies the identity of every buyer prior to a tour, uses geofencing technology to monitor when a buyer enters and exits the home, and covers up to $100,000 in the event of loss or damage to the home.