SEATTLE – The Northwest Multiple Listing Service has fined Redfin $50,000 and asked the company to stop publishing a popular blog in which the online real estate brokerage posted reviews of Seattle-area homes.
Redfin is appealing the fine but took steps this week to shut down the reviews on its “Sweet Digs” blog.
The blog, which has about 3,000 subscribers, was written by 15 freelance writers who, over the past five months, posted reviews on about 1,000 homes in Seattle and San Francisco. The company says it plans to maintain the blog as a source of information on pricing trends and recently sold homes.
Redfin Chief Executive Glenn Kelman said he had no choice but to comply, noting that the listing service had threatened to stop its feed of for-sale listings.
Kelman said he was disappointed by the action, noting that Redfin was trying to disseminate different perspectives on homes from what one might receive from a real estate agent.
