For Redfin agents, listing photographers and other folks who drive to houses all over town, Redfin is now paying a $5,000 subsidy for used or new electric-car purchases. In 2021, Redfin employees will have driven nearly 14 million miles, enough to go around the globe 600 times.
We love this subsidy because it benefits the planet and our people. To be the best employer in real estate, we invest in products, technology, pay and career growth for our agents and other field employees, but benefits are important too. We’re already the only major brokerage to pay for agents’ health insurance and support staff, and for dues, licensing, marketing and transportation costs.
But if we’re going to reimburse agents and other Redfin employees for every mile driven on the job, we’d much rather pay for our folks to drive electric vehicles. Transportation is the number-one source of the U.S.’s greenhouse-gas emissions. As the price of generating electricity from renewable sources falls, electrifying cars and then homes, buildings, and factories is the primary way this country will limit its impact on the world’s climate. The world has more than enough power for us all to do what we want; we just have to use the right kind of power.
Redfin has already benefited more than we could’ve hoped from an enormous consumer response to the ClimateCheck data we’ve added to our site, which scores each home for sale on how resilient it is to the floods or wildfires that have become more common due to climate change. Over time, we want to explore how the commission refund we offer to buyers at closing can be used to upgrade heating and cooling systems, or to buy solar panels. Our goal isn’t just to protect our customers from climate change, but also to support consumers who want to make more sustainable choices that can limit climate change.
For its first year, Redfin’s subsidy is limited to 100 agents buying electric cars. If more than 100 employees want to buy an electric car each year, we’ll look to expand the program next year! Many thanks to Katy Griffin, Ee Lyn Khoo and all the other stars in our human-resources department for bringing this idea to life! Honk if you see a Redfin agent in a Chevy Bolt!
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