Real estate brokerage Redfin is putting down roots on the public market, raising $138.5 million in an initial public offering Friday. The IPO is a crucial test not only for the 11 year old company, but for the broader market of tech-enabled startups that many hope will shake up the sometimes stodgy real estate industry.
Redfin shares opened for trading Friday at $19.56, which was 30% higher than the offering price. The surge gives the brokerage an initial market cap of around $1.38 billion.
The company had priced 9.23 million shares at $15 apiece on Thursday evening, which was already above the expected range of $12 to $14. Redfin listed its stock on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker “RDFN.” Goldman Sachs and Allen & Company were the lead underwriters on the offering.
Seattle-based Redfin describes itself as “a technology-powered real estate broker.” From its 2006 launch through 2016, it participated in 75,000 homes sales worth $40 billion. Redfin claims tools like mobile-based listing notifications, on-demand home tours and intelligent pricing make its agents three-times more productive than the competition and save customers an average of $3,500 in…