Redfin Announces First Profits at Naked Truth Panel

SEATTLE, July 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Online real estate broker Redfin today
announced at the Naked Truth panel that the company earned its first monthly
profits in June 2009.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070426/SFTH054LOGO)

The Naked Truth is a summer event that Redfin hosts with entrepreneurs,
investors and journalists to offer pragmatic advice for startups; this year
Michael Arrington, Damon Darlin, Fred Wilson and Fred Vogelstein joined
entrepreneurs from Redfin, Urbanspoon, Picnik and Animoto to compare revenue
models for Internet consumer companies; more than 500 people registered to
attend. In keeping with the panel's title, the entrepreneurs committed to
provide "the naked truth" about how their revenue models really work.

Redfin began organizing the event in April, before the company could forecast
June profits. With 300+% year-over-year growth in unique visitors, Redfin has
been the fastest-growing major real estate website in the U.S., but the
company's revenues have, until recently, grown more slowly, at 41%
year-over-year. The new surge in revenues is partly seasonal, because more
people buy homes in summer than winter, and partly due to a market-wide
rebound in sales activity over a dismal 2008.

But Redfin has also increased its market-share significantly. Redfin
attributes this share increase to its November 2008 decision to give clients
free unlimited home tours and one-on-one agent guidance during the home
search, and to its debut of online agent reviews in February 2009, which
increased new clients by 36%. A partner program, also launched in February
2009, has developed a new revenue source that has already made a small but
tangible contribution to profits. As margins have improved, customer
satisfaction has remained at 97%.

"The question with Redfin has always been whether Redfin can make money while
delivering fantastic service and saving consumers thousands in commissions,"
said Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman. "Well, in the worst real estate market in modern
history, with our agents spending most of their time on work-intensive sales
of distressed properties, we've built a stronger business than ever. Our
agents are top-ten producers in almost every market we serve; our website is a
cult. Our customers are raving fans. We have plenty of work to do to make
money all year round, and there are lots of risks ahead. But for a company
that many predicted would never make money, in an industry as battered as
ours, Redfin's first monthly profit is a big milestone."

About the Naked Truth
The Naked Truth is an annual panel conversation followed by a party. The theme
is a topic relevant to entrepreneurs building businesses, and the speakers are
respected practitioners in their fields providing real-world insights and
metrics, not just consultants or pundits offering their opinions. This year's
event is the third in the series; the event has always been free. The last
event's theme was how entrepreneurs talk to the media, with journalists from
Wired, The Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch and the Seattle Times
participating. This year's Naked Truth panel, sponsored by Madrona Venture
Group, Fenwick & West and Square 1 Bank, is focused on how Internet consumer
businesses generate revenue via ads, transactions, subscriptions and affiliate
programs. The full name of this year's event is "The Naked Truth: Show Me the
Money." Unique to the Naked Truth, participating startups have provided actual
metrics from their businesses as a benchmark to other entrepreneurs evaluating
different revenue models. Video of the event and the metrics from each of the
participating companies are available at http://blog.redfin.com. The Twitter
tag for the naked truth is #nakedtruth.

About Redfin
Redfin (www.redfin.com) is the real estate industry's first online brokerage,
combining a customer-focused team of real estate agents with online tools for
making the process of buying or selling a home easy. Redfin is the only major
search site to feature listings direct from broker databases as well as
for-sale-by-owner and foreclosure properties from across the Internet. The
company pays its agents customer-satisfaction bonuses, not commissions, and
surveys every client, publishing each survey as well as details on the agent's
negotiating performance and deal history. Redfin's service is available in the
metropolitan areas of Boston, Chicago, Seattle, Washington DC, Baltimore, New
York's Long Island and Westchester County as well as most of California,
including the San Francisco Bay Area, Southern California and Sacramento. To
keep track of our daring exploits, subscribe to blog.redfin.com.

SOURCE Redfin Corporation

Press Inquiries, Redfin, +1-206-819-7945, press@redfin.com