Rocket Is Acquiring Redfin for $1.75 Billion So Customers Can Buy and Sell Homes From Their Phones The company will work to implement AI technology into the home-buying process and be a one-stop shop for real estate.
By Erin Davis
Rocket Companies, a financial technology business and mortgage lender, is buying real estate brokerage Redfin in an all-stock deal for $1.75 billion, the companies announced in a joint statement on Monday.
"Rocket and Redfin have a unified vision of a better way to buy and sell homes," said Varun Krishna, CEO of Rocket, in the statement. "Together, we will improve the experience by connecting traditionally disparate steps of the search and financing process with leading technology that removes friction, reduces costs, and increases value to American homebuyers."
Bloomberg first reported the news just before the companies announced the deal.
Redfin was founded in 2004. Now, the "tech-powered brokerage" has more than 2,200 agents, a data repository of 100 million properties, and one million active purchase and rental listings, according to the report.
The company will work to implement AI technology into the home-buying process.
"Varun and I see how much better real estate could be when AI guides customers not just through that first step in their search, but all the way home, through the sale, the loan, and then a lifetime of accumulating equity and wealth," said Glenn Kelman, CEO of Redfin, in the statement.
Competitior Zillow is also working on becoming a one-stop shop for real estate.
Zillow CEO Jeremy Wacksman told BIZ Experiences in February that the company is taking steps to become a transaction-based business where people buy, finance, rent, and sell homes.
"Everything else in our lives we can do from our phone, but once you start to click the make an offer button, everything goes offline in real estate, so we're trying to bring that online," Wacksman said in the interview.
Kelman, meanwhile, said in the statement that Redfin and Rocket have similar plans.
"We want a customer to be able to check her phone to find out what she can afford, see which homes are just right for her, schedule a tour with a local, expert Redfin agent, and get pre-qualified for a loan, all in a matter of minutes," Kelman said.
Kelman will stay on to run the business and report to Krishna, the statement noted.
The transaction has been approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies and is expected to close in the second or third quarter of 2025, according to the statement.
Related: Here's What the Co-Founder of Zillow Says Investors Really Want to Hear From You
