Redfin Integrates $608m RentPath Acquisition and Adds Rentals to its Portal

American real estate giant Redfin now has a rental section on its user-facing housing portal thanks to the company's $608 million acquisition of rental portal specialist RentPath.

Until this week Redfin.com featured only sales listings but thanks to the integration of RentPath's assets the portal now includes a rentals section that works along the same lines as those of competitors such as Zillow and CoStar owned Apartments.com with listings sourced from RentPath's network.

As well as being one of the largest brokerages by volume in the United States, Redfin's listings site is also a popular destination for the house hunting public as the MLS system allows brokerage and agent sites to feature properties listed by rivals.

The logic behind the April 2021 acquisition of RentPath cited by Redfin was that with house prices rising and sales listings becoming more and more scarce, the company had to have a presence in rentals in order to be able to give American home movers a 360-degree offering.

A statement this week from Christian Taubman, Redfin’s Chief Growth Officer, again hinted at the importance the Seattle-based company places on being able to offer movers both rental and sales options:

“Most people who are considering renting a new home in the next six months say they are also considering buying. Redfin gives everyone the tools to win the place that’s best for them, whether that’s a place to lease or buy.”

RentPath owns and operates several rental portals in the United States including Apartment Guide, Rentals.com and Rent.com. The company was on the verge of going bankrupt when commercial real estate giant CoStar stepped in with a bid to buy out the company in February 2020. Competition authorities put the kibosh on CoStar's bid for RentPath (costing it $52 million in fees) but RedFin stepped in with a bid and by April 2021 had the deal sealed.