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Online brokerage and listings site Redfin said it has reached a deal to buy RentPath, the Atlanta-based owner of ApartmentGuide.com, Rent.com, and Rentals.com, for $608 million in cash. The news comes after CoStar’s attempted acquisition was blocked by antitrust regulators.
“RentPath has more than 20,000 apartment buildings on its rental websites, and grew its traffic more than 25 percent last year,” Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman said in a statement. “We can almost double that audience, as one in five of Redfin.com’s 40 million-plus monthly visitors also wants to see homes for rent. Together with RentPath, we can create an online destination for every North American to find a home.”
The RentPath network of websites reached 16 million monthly visitors on average in 2020, and recorded full year 2020 revenue of $194 million.
“We are energized by the transformational potential of this combination to help more consumers find the right home and help property managers find residents,” RentPath CEO Dhiren Fonseca said in a statement. “RentPath’s customers experienced all-time highs in traffic and leads from us last year and our value proposition to multifamily property managers has never been better. By acquiring RentPath, Redfin will be as committed as we are to the rental market. As part of the Redfin family, our platform will be well positioned to lead the market in the quality and value of our products, while giving our current and future customers access to many more high-intent renters through Redfin’s extensive network.”
Redfin said its move has three main motivations: Boosting brand exposure to renters – who are potential future homebuyers – creating a larger platform for rental listings that can compete with larger rental listing sites and improving the experience of renters looking for apartments.
Both companies’ board of directors have approved the deal, Redfin said. Once the deal is approved by regulators, RentPath listings could be on Redfin.com by late 2022. Up to 10 million of Redfin’s monthly users could be interested in rental properties, the company estimates.
Crucially, however, while it says it “is excited about the opportunities to make the whole process of renting an apartment better,” Redfin said the move does not represent an effort to expand its brokerage activities to cover apartment rentals.
