Clever Real Estate Reviews 2023 | By an Actual Customer
Read Clever Real Estate reviews from real customers | Is Clever worth it? | How Clever works | Clever vs. alternatives | FAQ
What is Clever Real Estate?
Clever Real Estate (or just Clever) is a free nationwide service that matches home sellers and buyers with local real estate agents. It negotiates serious savings on behalf of sellers and offers cash back for eligible buyers.
These aren't discount agents. Clever partners with full-service realtors from major brands, like Keller Williams and Century 21, plus top regional brokerages. But you get special rates when you go through Clever instead of finding the same agent on your own. Pretty sweet deal!
My wife and I recently bought our first home and found our real estate agent through Clever. I’m going to break down how Clever’s service works, along with my personal experience using it.
✍️ Editor’s take: Is Clever Real Estate worth it?
Yes, Clever is 100% worth it! You'll be matched with full-service real estate agents, and the savings are legit. It’s free to use with no obligation, so there’s no risk in giving it a try. I recommend you start your search with Clever to see who it matches you with.
If you choose to work with one of Clever’s partner agents, you could save thousands of dollars compared to finding the same agent on your own (we did!). The agents come from well-known and respected brands, like RE/MAX and Keller Williams, so you won’t be making any sacrifice in terms of quality.
If you don't like any of the agents Clever recommends, you can request more agent matches until you find the right fit — or walk away anytime. It’s also super fast (our first two agent matches came through in minutes), so if it doesn’t work out, you’re not wasting much time.
My personal advice: Try Clever, and see who it matches you with and how much you could save. If it doesn’t work out, just move on. If it does, you’ll get a great agent, full service and support, and lots of savings. |
Clever Real Estate reviews from real buyers and sellers
Customer rating | |
|---|---|
Weighted average | 4.9 (1,810 reviews) |
Better Business Bureau | 4.76 (33 reviews) |
Google | 4.7 (67 reviews) |
Trustpilot | 4.9 (1710 reviews) |
Clever Real Estate reviews are very positive overall, with an average rating of 4.9 out of 5. Customers were especially impressed by the quality of their agent matches, which often made the entire real estate transaction feel easy and seamless.
Of course, the fact that customers saved money was another plus for many. A number of reviewers said they saved thousands of dollars while still getting a great real estate agent.
While we weren’t able to find many negative Clever Real Estate reviews, the few we did find focus on real estate agents who were a poor match for individual customers. This isn't surprising, since even the best agent isn’t going to be right for everyone. Fortunately, Clever will match you with multiple agents so you can choose the best fit.
'Stunned at how great our experience was'
Many customers were happily surprised that Clever partner agents are the same ones you’d find working with major national and regional brokerages.
'Worked with a great agent'
Other reviewers appreciated how their agents were able to handle challenges, which made the real estate transaction much easier.
'Clever saved me thousands of dollars'
Savings were also a major selling point for customers, thanks to Clever’s low commission prices.
'One of them didn't impress me very much, so I went with the other one'
While the overwhelming majority of Clever Real Estate reviews are positive, there have been occasional complaints. Often these complaints are about the first agent match not being a great fit. Fortunately, Clever allows you to compare multiple real estate agents so you can pick the right one for you.
How does Clever Real Estate work?
Clever’s agent matching service is fast and easy. Here’s how it works in a nutshell (followed by a more detailed breakdown):
- Sign up online: The sign-up process literally takes a few minutes.
- Talk to a Concierge: A licensed Clever customer service rep gives you a call to learn more about your needs and answer questions (note: you can opt out of the call).
- Get your agent matches: Your first agent matches arrive via text, email, and your Clever dashboard within a few hours (sometimes minutes).
- Decide who to interview: Read up on the real estate agents and decide who you want to talk to. The agents may also reach out to you, but there’s no obligation or pressure to respond.
- Compare and choose agents: Interview the agents and pick the best fit. You can also request more agent matches — or walk away at any time.
- Save money when you sell: Once you make your choice, the real estate agent takes it from there. You get 100% full service and support, plus legit savings (we’re talking thousands).
Step 1: Sign up online
You can sign up for Clever’s matching service by filling out a simple online form.
You enter a few basic details about your purchase or sale (like zip code, target price, and timeline). And voila: you’re finished. It takes about one to two minutes.
You can also call Clever directly at 1-833-225-3837 or email https://save@listwithclever.com/, if you prefer.
Step 2: Talk to a Clever Concierge
After you sign up, you’ll get a call from a Clever Concierge, usually within minutes. If it’s outside Clever’s normal customer service hours (seven days a week, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. CT), you’ll have to wait longer.
While the Concierge conversation is optional (you can opt out and just get your agent matches), I recommend picking up the phone for a few key reasons:
- Every Clever Concierge is a licensed real estate agent. In addition to answering questions about Clever’s service, they can also provide general real estate advice and guidance.
- Human-driven customer service beats full automation. The conversation is an opportunity to tell the Concierge about your situation, goals, and preferences so they use that context to recommend real estate agents who are a better fit.
- Clever’s Concierges are super nice and helpful! In an age when frustrating customer service experiences are the new normal, Clever stands apart: everyone I interacted with was super smart, friendly, and genuinely invested in helping me get a good outcome.
Step 3: Get your agent matches
Once you fill Clever in on your needs and preferences, the agent matching process begins.
Exactly how long it takes to get your agent matches can vary depending on where you’re looking to buy or sell and exactly what your needs are. But according to Clever, the first match usually comes through in less than an hour (we got our first two agent matches in minutes).
Our Clever Concierge told me it can sometimes take up to 24 hours for all the matches to be finalized, but ours always came much faster every time we requested them (we requested additional matches a few times as we considered different areas to buy).
Clever delivers agent matches via group text messages, email intros, and a nifty customer dashboard on Clever’s website.
Step 4: Decide which agents you want to talk to
Once you get your agent matches, I recommend doing a little research online. Clever has strict standards for the agents in its network and tailors matches to your needs and preferences, but it’s always a good idea to do your own due diligence.
Take two minutes to do some Googling, and check each agent’s Zillow or Realtor.com profiles to see their current and past sales, customer reviews, and more.
If the real estate agent doesn’t seem like a good fit, you don’t have to talk to them. You can opt to follow up only with the agents who seem promising. Or you can ask Clever to send additional matches with refined criteria.
If you want to proceed a bit more cautiously, start by reaching out to the agents via text (that’s what we did) or email to set up a call. This also provides an opportunity to test their communication skills and responsiveness. Or you can just cut to the chase and call them right away.
✍️ Editor’s note: Some real estate agents may try to contact you immediately. This is a good indicator that they’re motivated and generally on the ball. If you want an agent to stop contacting you, just let Clever know (though I never had to do that, none of them were pushy or aggressive). Also note that it’s not a deal breaker if the agent doesn’t respond right away. The best real estate agents have packed schedules. They may be actively showing homes or helping other clients during the day, and that's why they're not free at the exact moment you get connected. |
Step 5: Interview agents and choose the best fit
Now it’s time to actually talk to the agents and decide who you want to work with.
As home buyers, the stakes surrounding our decision felt relatively low: none of the real estate agents we spoke to was looking to lock us into an exclusive contract.
👍 Zero pressure, seamless process, speedy results
I didn’t feel pressured at all throughout the process. I was also aware that if we started touring homes with a real estate agent and things didn’t click, we could always just ask Clever to send some more matches.
Candidly, I wasn’t a fan of the first agent I spoke to on the phone. Their profile was great, but their personality wasn’t a match.
I immediately had a good feeling about the second real estate agent. We connected via phone on a Saturday afternoon and were touring houses with her on Sunday.
Our agent didn’t pressure us at all. And she was super knowledgeable about the different types of homes, their features, local regulations, and the towns and neighborhoods in general.
We ended up making an offer on (and ultimately buying) a house we toured with her the following evening.
⚡️ Clever helped us stay fast and flexible while house hunting
We actually had Clever send us a number of agent matches, with agents in different markets throughout the region we were buying in.
We were house hunting (and now live) in a more rural part of Upstate New York, so we were considering several towns that weren’t right next to one another. Our target markets spanned multiple counties and school districts — and in some cases, a large body of water.
We wanted agents who specialized in each discrete market so we’d have legit expert guidance no matter where we ended up making an offer. Clever made that super easy for us to do!
When a potential property popped up in a town an earlier real estate agent wasn't as familiar with, we just hit up our Clever Concierge for a new match with local expertise.
As I mentioned, we ended up buying with the second agent we spoke to (apologies to the agents we ghosted!). But it was pretty awesome to have that kind of support and flexibility as we were scrambling around, adapting our strategy because of the insane competition among buyers in the region.
✍️ A quick note for sellers: Because most listing agents have you sign a contract when you decide to hire them, it’s a good idea to interview at least two to three before making a final decision. This helps ensure you get the best possible fit in terms of both skills and experience, as well as customer service approach and personality. |
Step 6: Start buying or selling, get ongoing support from Clever
Once you choose your agent and actually get started, Clever continues to check in on your progress and the level and quality of service you’re getting from your agent. It’s really nice to feel like you have some backup if your agent isn’t meeting your expectations — or things just aren’t clicking personality-wise.
Clever can step in and address service quality issues. Or it can “break up” with the agent on your behalf and help you find a new one, so you’re not starting from scratch.
How good are Clever’s partner agents?
Clever vets its partner agents thoroughly. According to its website, Clever works with agents who have solid experience (5+ years), sales records, and customer reviews. It also partners with agents who specialize in specific areas, like short sales or pre-foreclosures, real estate investing, first-time buyers and sellers, military, and more.
The agent we ended up choosing was with one of the top brokerages in our region. She had a really solid profile on Zillow: lots of local experience and recent deals, plus excellent reviews. Had we searched for an agent on our own instead of going through Clever, there's a good chance we would've reached out to her anyway.
Our Concierge also told us that Clever proactively removes agents from its agent network who don’t live up to its performance and customer service standards.
So while Clever can’t control everything — remember, these are independent agents from name-brand brokerages, not Clever employees — it does a pretty amazing job of ensuring the agents in its network deliver on the promised service and value.
To decide if Clever is right for you, you can get matched with agents and compare options side by side.
Do Clever partner agents really provide full service?
Based on my personal experience as a home buyer, Clever’s partner agents absolutely provide full service — and then some.
After submitting our offer, we had some brutal, stressful negotiations that lasted weeks. Our agent texted and called us at all hours of the day, seven days a week, to give us updates, answer questions, and help keep our panic attacks to a minimum.
Our agent was also there for the inspection and advocated on our behalf. And she helped us come up with creative ways (contingencies, flexible closing) to get our bid accepted, even though we were offering the list price and other buyers were willing to pay (a lot) more.
Then, over a very extended closing timeline (we’re talking more than five months), our agent:
- Continuously checked in with updates and kept the deal on track
- Accompanied us on the final walk-through
- Gave us the customary champagne and flowers after closing
- Consistently brought her emoji A-game when texting 👍 👏
While I can’t personally speak to the seller experience, I’ll point to the massive number of 5-star reviews (mostly from home sellers) as pretty solid evidence Clever is delivering on the "full service" promise for those customers as well.
Clever Real Estate's commission savings for sellers
Clever sellers get full service and support from a realtor for a 1.5% listing fee — instead of paying the typical 2.5–3% rate most seller’s agents charge. This might not sound like a huge difference, but when you’re talking about an asset as valuable as a house, the real-dollar savings are massive.
Here's an example of Clever seller savings on a $500,000 home.
Clever | Conventional realtor | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Listing fee | 1.5% | $7,5000 | 3% | $15,000 |
Buyer’s agent fee | 3% | $15,000 | 3% | $15,000 |
Total commission | 4.5% | $22,500 | 6% | $30,000 |
Total savings | 1.5% | $7,500 | 0% | $0 |
Clever sellers never have to pay Clever any fee for its matching service. You’ll only pay your agent’s reduced fee if and when your home sells.
If the agent fails to sell your home or you both agree to end the relationship and go a different direction, you won’t pay anyone anything.
You should also expect to cover the buyer’s agent commission — an additional 2.5–3% — which you'll likely pay no matter the agent or brokerage you sell with.
No matter who you sell with — Clever, a discount brokerage, or a conventional realtor — you’ll likely be encouraged to cover the buyer’s agent fee.
Think of this fee as a built-in cost of marketing your home.
A competitive buyer’s agent commission incentivizes other agents to show your home to their clients. You’ll generally get more offers faster, which will drive up the final sale price and expedite your sale timeline.
If you lowball the buyer’s agent commission, many agents will likely deprioritize showing your home. And if you require the buyer to cover their agent’s fee, you’ll significantly shrink your buyer pool.
Most listing agents will bake the total commission (i.e., the fees for both agents) into the list price of the home. So while commission usually comes out of your sale proceeds, it’s actually the buyer who's paying. But including it in the sale price allows the buyer to roll it into their mortgage, which lowers their out-of-pocket costs and makes the purchase more affordable.
Yes! According to Clever (and confirmed by thousands of positive seller reviews), you can expect the same experience, service, and support you’d get if you’d found the same agent on your own and paid their full rate. Full service includes all the essentials:
- Home valuation and pricing strategy
- Staging and listing prep advice
- Professional photos
- MLS listing, digital and print advertising
- Showings, open houses, or both
- Help with offers and negotiating
- Contract support
- Closing coordination
When you meet with prospective agent matches, they’ll do a listing presentation where they lay out their entire marketing strategy and what type of services and support you can expect. So you’ll ultimately have full control over who you hire and know exactly what to expect coming in.
Clever vs. alternatives
Company | Built-in buyer savings? | Listing fee for sellers | Avg. customer rating |
|---|---|---|---|
✅ ($250)* | 1.5% | 4.9 (1,810 reviews) | |
❌ | 1.5% | 3.8 (425 reviews) | |
❌ | 2% | 4.9 (4,343 reviews) | |
❌ | Market** | 4.6 (4,267 reviews) | |
Conventional realtor | ❌ | Market** | N/A |
*Typical refund on qualifying purchases. **2–3% based on avg. commission rates nationwide. | |||
I’ve done a lot of homework on agent matching services, like Clever, as well as discount brokerages like Redfin.
It’s pretty clear cut: Clever objectively offers the best combination of service quality and savings compared to other nationwide brands.
Redfin charges the same 1.5% listing fee as Clever. However, Redfin's agent network is smaller, so you might have more trouble finding an agent that fits your needs.
Ideal Agent and UpNest are agent matching services that offer similar agent quality to Clever (they match you with highly rated local agents from name-brand brokerages), but they don’t offer competitive savings.
Ideal Agent’s 2% listing fees are more expensive than Clever’s 1.5% rates. And UpNest doesn’t offer pre-negotiated rates. While it advertises savings, it seems like many sellers end up paying pretty close to market rates — aka even more than with Ideal Agent.
» MORE: Compare Clever vs. other low commission real estate brands
The bottom line: Who should use Clever?
If you need a realtor, I highly recommend trying Clever first – or at least comparing its matches to other agent matching services and brokerages to see how they stack up.
Clever found us a great local agent who went above and beyond the call of duty, big time. She helped us successfully purchase our first home during what was probably the hardest time to buy a home – maybe ever?
I’m not saying Clever is going to work for everyone. But I’ll just reiterate this key point:
If Clever does get you a good match (which it's very good at, by the way), you’re going to buy or sell with a top local agent from a name-brand brokerage and save literally thousands (if not tens of thousands) of dollars. |
Given the potential upside — and the fact that Clever is free with no obligation — I can’t imagine why everyone wouldn’t at least give this service a try.
Try Clever's free agent matching service!
Match with top local realtors, get full service, and save. 100% free with no obligation.
Summary: Clever Real Estate | |
|---|---|
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | |
4.9 (1,810 reviews) | |
1.5% (vs. typical 2.5–3%) | |
$7,000 | |
Cost of service | Free with no obligation |
Concierge support | Included |
Availability | Nationwide |
Agent network size | 18,000+ |
Founded | 2017 |
Better Business Bureau | |
FAQ about Clever Real Estate
Yes. As a Clever customer, I can confirm that Clever offers excellent value and service. Clever matched us with a great agent and provided excellent support throughout the home buying process. We didn’t pay Clever (or our agent) a dime! While a lot of people are probably thinking this sounds too good to be true, it’s not. More people should know about Clever, because it’s making real estate more affordable and accessible for consumers across the country. Learn more about my experience buying with Clever.
Yes, Clever is a fully licensed brokerage and well-established nationwide service that helps consumers get expert representation and save money when they buy or sell a house. Clever is fully accredited by the Better Business Bureau, with an A+ rating. It has a 4.9-star average customer rating based on more than 2,000 verified reviews on the independent review site Trustpilot. You can read Clever customer reviews here.
Clever’s CEO is Luke Babich. The St. Louis–based company was co-founded by Luke Babich, Ben Mizes, and Jake Cardenas in 2017. Clever’s agent matching service is available nationwide, with more than 18,000 agents in its partner network.