See local daycare spots when shopping for a new home

Housing and childcare often represent the two largest expenses for families with young children. Redfin, a real estate brokerage, has launched a new tool that connects these two financial burdens by displaying local early care options directly on property listings.

The feature is the result of a partnership between Redfin and Winnie, a national online marketplace for childcare. Isabelle Novak, a spokesperson for Redfin, confirmed that the integration became available on Redfin’s mobile applications for iOS and Android at the end of September. It is also accessible on the company’s desktop website. The data draws from more than 250,000 licensed early care and education programs across the United States.

Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin, noted that home searches frequently coincide with major life transitions such as weddings or the birth of a child. He stated that knowing available childcare options before committing to a mortgage helps buyers calculate their true affordability. "Searching for a home often coincides with having a child," Fairweather said. "If you're trying to do the calculation on how much house you can afford, it's helpful to know what your childcare options are before committing to that mortgage."

The new "Preschool & daycare" section appears alongside the existing K-12 school ratings from GreatSchools. When a buyer views a listing, the feature lists up to five nearby providers, showing the ages they serve and their distance from the home. Clicking on a provider name reveals a pop-up with details such as hours of operation, addresses, and available financial assistance. Users can also click through to Winnie’s website for additional information like available slots and tuition rates.

Sara Mauskopf, CEO and co-founder of Winnie, explained that the platform pulls initial data from public state licensing databases. Providers can then claim their pages to update details such as open spaces, which can change daily. Mauskopf said that about a quarter of the 250,000 provider pages have been claimed by owners. She emphasized that childcare is a necessity for many families, not an optional extra. "I think it's really critical for families to be thinking about childcare upfront and not as an afterthought," she said.

The tool displays providers within a 10-mile radius of a property. If no licensed programs exist in that range, the listing will display a message indicating that none were found. Mauskopf noted that this visibility is crucial for identifying "childcare deserts," which are areas where affordable housing may exist but local care options are sparse. This information helps families determine if a location is viable before they move.

Mauskopf observed a recent shift in the industry, with more providers beginning to list tuition rates online. She attributed this change partly to families using artificial intelligence tools to query program costs. While a majority of programs still require tours before sharing prices, Mauskopf hopes this trend will continue so that the Redfin integration can eventually provide a complete cost picture for prospective buyers.