Working with low commission realtors is one of the ideal ways to save money when selling a home. Some of these low commission realtors offer services that are at par with traditional brokerages.
We have curated a list of the top low-cost realtors to make the job easier for you. Here are our picks.
1. Clever Real Estate
Clever offers one of the lowest commission rates among full-service brokerages. Its listing fee is just 1%. It also switches to a flat fee of $3,000 for homes that sell for less than $350,000, so some homeowners might pay even less than 1%.
It is a fast, simple, and free mode of finding a top-rated local agent. You just need to answer some basic questions about your home and you will get hand-picked agent recommendations right in your inbox. It also pre-negotiates significant discounts on the seller’s behalf, so that they can save big bucks without compromising on service quality.
You can even interview as many brokers as you want until you find the perfect one for yourself. If you don’t like anyone, you may just walk away anytime.
Clever Real Estate reviews mention that it offers the same experience one can expect from a traditional brokerage. But there are also negative Clever Real Estate reviews, according to which the company gives limited options if you want to work with brokers from a specific brokerage.
2. Redfin
Another popular name among discount realtors is Redfin. While it does not have the cheapest commission rates in the full-service tier, its savings are quite solid. Its listing fee is 1.5%, which falls to 1% if you are purchasing also with Redfin. However, there is a minimum fee of $6,500, which may limit the savings if your house is low-priced.
This discount realtor has its own team of agents. However, these brokers attend to three times as many clients simultaneously as the average traditional realtor. While most sellers are fine with this approach, not all may find it to be the best fit if you are in a complex selling situation.
Selling more houses with a smaller number of brokers enables Redfin to make a profit. While this model is efficient, it is not risk-free. Some of the negative reviews consistently cite communication issues with brokers.
3. SimpleShowing
This is also a popular name in the list of discount realtors. SimpleShowing provides competitively lower listing fees in select states.
The number of agents working with SimpleShowing is smaller than a typical real estate company. Consequently, its brokers attend to five times more customers than an average realtor.
This is a common theme among low commission realtors. This leads to potential service trade-offs for homeowners who want more hands-on attention.
4. Ideal Agent
Ideal Agent is also one of the major low commission realtors and is a great service to find top-rated real estate agents from a brokerage.
Having said that, if savings are on your top agenda, this might not be your ideal option. It pre-negotiates 2% listing fees with the brokerages, so it is definitely cheaper than a full-price broker.
Ideal Agent is very selective about the brokers it works with. So, one can be guaranteed to get matched with a broker who is among the top sellers in your area.
Signing up is free and you don’t have any obligation to work with the agent that you match with.
Ideal Agent is a great resource to find a high-quality broker and it is also less risky than some other discount realtors. However, it is not the only free service that can get you matched with good agents.
5. Howzer
Howzer charges flat $5,000 listing fees in select markets on the East Coast. The commission savings are great too. For instance, on a home priced $1 million, you will save $25,000 on listing fees compared to shelling out a standard commission of 3%.
Howzer also employs a team-based model to sell more homes. Its agents handle up to three times as many clients as brokers at traditional real estate firms. Sellers also get virtual home tours and other premium marketing services with the package. So, there’s no additional cost for these premium features.
However, like all low commission realtors that deploy a team-based approach, the risk of mistakes is high with Howzer too, especially if your selling situation is complex.
Also, if you are selling a low-priced home, your savings might be negligible.
6. Homie
Homie is a flat-fee real estate firm that charges a flat listing fee of $3,500. Homie claims to offer everything you would get with a traditional broker. However, while its self-service process is good for experienced sellers who want to sell their house fast, it is not ideal for all sellers.
Home agents provide fewer services that let them handle ten times as many clients at once. Such a bare-bones approach raises the risk of a poor experience.
