Redfin Issues Correction
Filed Under: Quick Hit
This has been reported elsewhere, but I thought I should update any readers who may have missed it.
Thanks to some sleuthing from Kevin at 3 Oceans Real Estate Blog, Redfin released a correction to its controversial claim that Redfin agents more effective negotiator. Apparently they were off by just a hair in their calculations.
More from John Cook: Redfin admits mistake
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Kevin Boer | Mar 2, 2007 | Reply
A lot of work on their part to track down one relatively minor mistake! Good for them that it didn’t pop up in other transactions.
Rory | Mar 2, 2007 | Reply
Hey Joel,
With regard to your original post,
What’s with the perpetual references to Freakanomics?
It is obvious to anyone who has read that and the other New York Times bestseller (by Malcom Gladwell) of the same time that both books are based off of the same logic fallacies, moreover, they are based on all of the same research and borderline plagiarism of one another.
I feel like Redfin themselves would be better off if they didn’t give nods to shoddy literature. I think that they are establishing credibility with their own voice being honest. Everyone in the big house brokerages also knows that Real Estate is very much a karma game as well. If you come out hard sniping the enemy, you are making a very very tough uphill battle for yourself.
Maybe you can explain it to me?
Your blog is great.
/end rant.
Galen | Mar 2, 2007 | Reply
Sorry to follow the off-topic rant with another but…
Rory, there is a big difference between Gladwell’s book and Freakanomics: one of the Freakanomics authors actually did the research that is described in the book. Steven Levitt is actually an excellent economist (and statistician) and seems very open minded going into a study.
His research doesn’t damn all agents, just agents on average. Does it really seem that inconceivable that some agents underprice homes in order to sell them faster?