Compare Flyhomes and REX Real Estate

For Sellers

Listing Rate
1%
Commission
Minimum commissions and other terms may apply. Buyer's Agent Commission (2.5%-3%) is not included, but you may be able to negotiate this as well. Flyhomes charges 1% to list a home.

For Sellers

Trade-in Program
1%
Service Fee
Minimum commissions and other terms may apply. Buyer's Agent Commission (2.5%-3%) is not included, but you may be able to negotiate this as well. Flyhomes does not provide Trade-in program participants a rebate on the buy-side.

For Sellers

Listing Rate
2%
Commission
Minimum commissions and other terms may apply. Buyer's Agent Commission (2.5%-3%) is not included, because REX does not offer a split option to buyer’s agents. If a buyer approaches the seller’s listing with a buyer’s agent, the buyer will be responsible for Buyer's Agent Commission amount out-of-pocket.

For Buyers

Buyer’s Savings
33%
Commission Rebate
When Flyhomes represents home buyers, it contributes 33% of its Buyer's Agent Commission (2.5%-3%) to the buyer as a way to financially compete for a buyer’s business. Home buyers do not pay any taxes on the amount, the refund amount is always tax-free.

For Buyers

Cash Offer
1%
Service Fee
It costs 1% to make a Flyhomes Cash Offer, but buyers working with Flyhomes also receive 1% of cash rewards to apply towards closing costs. Cash Offer is not free since the buyer will not receive a commission refund when using a stand-in program. Cash Offers stand-in program is highly selective and may come with added risks in case a buyer decides to back out of the sale. Buyers should carefully review their agreement with Flyhomes.

For Buyers

Buyer’s Savings
50%
Commission Rebate
When REX Real Estate represents home buyers, it contributes 50% of its Buyer's Agent Commission (2.5%-3%) to the buyer as a way to financially compete for a buyer’s business. Home buyers do not pay any taxes on the amount, the refund amount is always tax-free.
Question: What is the difference between Flyhomes and REX Real Estate?
Answer: Flyhomes is a full-service real estate agent and a stand-in cash program for buyers that offers savings to homebuyers and home sellers while REX Real Estate is a full-service real estate agent that offers savings to homebuyers and home sellers
Compare Flyhomes and REX Real Estate for home buying and selling. HomeOpenly is an impartial and an open resource focused on trending real estate services, portals and start-ups.

First published: 17 February 2019
Last updated: 25 April 2021

Buying and Selling with Flyhomes

Flyhomes is a multi-state full-service real estate agent offers consumers listing savings and buyer’s refunds in select areas across Washington, Oregon, Illinois, Massachusetts, and California.

In Oregon state law currently does not allow Flyhomes to offer buyer’s rebates to consumers.

Flyhomes Pricing

Flyhomes offers listing savings to sellers (1% listing fee) and commission refunds to buyers (32% estimated rebate where allowed by State law.)

Flyhomes also offers buyers Cash Offers stand-in program, where the company either assures buyer’s offer or buys a home and resells it to the buyer for an added fee (1% service fee).

A similar Trade-in Program is available for sellers.

Listing Services

  • MLS Listing
  • Zillow, Trulia, etc. Listing
  • Accept and Deliver All Offers and Counteroffers
  • Hold Open Houses
  • Professional Photography
  • Professional Floor Plans
  • Yard Signage Installation
  • Spare Key Lock-box Installation
  • Schedule Inspection Services
  • Schedule Private Showings
  • Closing Duties

Buyer's Agent Services

  • Find the Property
  • Accept and Deliver All Offers and Counteroffers
  • Recommend Other Professionals
  • Attend Inspection Services
  • Schedule Private Showings
  • Negotiate Needed Repairs
  • Closing Duties

Flyhomes Editor's Review:

Flyhomes is a consumer-focused saving real estate broker that offers a wide variety of value-added propositions for home buyers and sellers in select areas where it operates.

Agent Listings
As a listing agent, Flyhomes works with a seller to prepare their home for listing, including taking professional photos, pricing home, and publishing marketing materials. Flyhomes lists all homes on the local MLS as well as typical MLS Aggregators.

Trade-in Program for Sellers
Flyhomes is not an iBuyer. Flyhomes offers sellers a Trade-in Program where the company runs a pricing analysis on seller's current home and sets a conservative price guarantee for the amount that it will pay to buy it outright.

Once a seller selects a new home and her purchase offer is accepted, the company lists the seller's current home on the market in order to sell it for more than the price guarantee amount. Once the home sells company accounts for its expenses. Flyhomes Trade-in Program is a value-added proposition and a viable alternative to iBuyer Offers. Unlike Flyhomes, with an iBuyer seller inevitably loses a lot of their home net equity in the process due to the risk of holding and re-selling the home by the iBuyer. Sellers using Trade-in Program do not lose equity and only pay a moderate fee in the process. Granted, Flyhomes does not offer "quick cash" iBuyer proposition, where the seller still needs to list their home in the open market and wait for better offers to come in and pay expenses back, but the equity savings is why we rate this program as genuinely consumer-focused.

Sellers who use Flyhomes Trade-in program do not receive a rebate on the buy-side and Flyhomes charges sellers 1% commission as a service fee (this does not include the buy-side agent commission) to list their home. Flyhomes evaluates seller's home before the seller can participate in Trade-in Program and reserves the right to request repairs prior to seller's inclusion in the program.

Buyer's Agent
As a buyer's agent, Flyhomes works with buyers to find a home, schedule inspections, negotiate repairs and finalize the purchase. Flyhomes offers overall great value to consumers looking to buy or sell a home including a convenient "request tour" option on the Flyhomes website in order to easily schedule home viewings with their service team.

Guaranteed and Cash Offers for Buyers
Flyhomes offers buyers a unique Cash Offers stand-in program where Flyhomes purchases a home outright from the seller on a buyer's behalf in as few as 2 days and sells it back at the same price to the buyer on an agreed upon closing date.

When a Cash Offer is not available, buyers can utilize Guaranteed Offer instead. For the Guaranteed Offer program, Flyhomes guarantees the seller that the home will close, and if it doesn't, Flyhomes will then buy the home for the same terms.

Cash Offers stand-in program is not free, it is also highly selective. Cash Offers program may come with added risks in the event the buyer decides to back out of the sale. Buyers should carefully review their agreement with Flyhomes before participating in Cash Offers stand-in program so to fully understand the fees and potential penalties for backing out of the Cash Offer once it is made.

Buyers can only utilize Cash Offers when working with Flyhomes, which means that if there is another local real estate agent who offers a buyer a better commission refund, such as a flat fee option, the buyer cannot take advantage of these larger savings with Cash Offers.

In some cases, an alternative savings model may better serve buyers financially than Cash Offers proposition due to a sheer price tag of standard real estate commissions.

Where does Flyhomes operate?

Flyhomes currently operates in select areas across Greater Seattle, Chicago, Portland, San Francisco Bay Area, and Boston.

Buying and Selling with REX Real Estate

REX Real Estate is a California, Texas, Colorado, New Jersey, and New York real estate listing agent, offers consumers listing savings and buyer’s rebates for select areas. REX Real Estate does not offer Buyer's Agent Commission (2.5%-3%) split to buyer’s agents and does not list seller’s homes on the MLS.

MLS-less REX significantly lowers home's exposure to buyers working with their own agent and misrepresents many advantages of using MLS to sellers.

Further, REX Real Estate claims to save buyer's agent fee amount, but in reality, Buyer's Agent Commission is always defined by the seller and it is up to the seller how much she is willing to offer buyer's agent, not REX.

The listing rate of 2%, that the company offers, must be compared to a "traditional" listing fee of 3%. In this comparison, REX Real Estate listing savings are only 1% less than a "traditional" listing commission.

REX Real Estate Pricing

REX Real Estate offers savings to sellers with a commission set at 2%, and buyers a 50% commission rebate.

Listing Services

  • MLS Listing
  • Zillow, Trulia, etc. Listing
  • Accept and Deliver All Offers and Counteroffers
  • Hold Open Houses
  • Professional Photography
  • Professional Floor Plans
  • Yard Signage Installation
  • Spare Key Lock-box Installation
  • Schedule Inspection Services
  • Schedule Private Showings
  • Closing Duties

Buyer's Agent Services

  • Find the Property
  • Accept and Deliver All Offers and Counteroffers
  • Recommend Other Professionals
  • Attend Inspection Services
  • Schedule Private Showings
  • Negotiate Needed Repairs
  • Closing Duties

REX Real Estate Editor's Review:

REX Real Estate is a consumer-focused real estate agent that, unfortunately, claims a lot more than what it actionably delivers. REX Real Estate service includes posting home on its own web site and MLS Aggregator services, professional photos and 3D images in addition to all typical services offered by a traditional real estate agent.

The key disadvantage of using REX Real Estate is that it does not use MLS to advertise a listing property to other brokers. Any buyer who is represented by their own agent must pay a buyer’s agent fees out-of-pocket. This proposition gives REX larger control of how company’s listing data is distributed and an excuse to claim additional savings against 6% commission, but the seller pays the real price with a highly limited pool of self-represented buyers.

The company claims that it saves the seller a Buyer’s Agent Commission, but this amount is typically defined by the seller and it is never mandatory. In reality, REX Real Estate actionably offers 1% in listing savings compared to a “traditional” listing rate of 3%.

REX Real Estate further misrepresents volume of total savings when it claims that other agents that use “antiquated MLS and is set up like a traditional agency, can’t get away from the 3% buy-side commission.” This is false. There are agents who choose to waive or drastically reduce this fee if the buyer is self-represented and this amount if not set in stone. The only reason 2.5% - 3% buy-side commission is often recommended by other real estate agents is because it significantly increases listing exposure to potential buyers.

When comparing listing rates, Buyer’s Agent Commission amount is irrelevant and should never be used to “prop-up” the appeal of a competitive listing rate. This systematic misinformation is quite damaging to consumers who may not be aware of drawbacks associated with not offering the buy-side commission.

Further, REX Real Estate operates alongside many highly competitive real estate agents that offer consumers much better savings, such as flat fees - when the company claims it offers the lowest fee, this is simply not true. When working with other agents, REX Real Estate hypocritically receives Buyer’s Agent Commission from other listing agents when it represents buyers; REX Real Estate refunds 50% of that amount back to the buyer, as a tax-free commission refund.

We find that REX Real Estate offers nothing new over most any real estate agent, it simply games a few pieces of the existing process in an effort to claim that it has a found a way to replace an outdated MLS.

A well-defined MLS Aggregation process is actually very helpful to consumers because this information, now widely available online, helps people find and shop for homes easily. The real problems in the real estate process are excessive fees and hidden kickbacks between agents and referral fee networks.

Despite the fact that REX Real Estate is a model that offers listing savings to sellers, it receives an average score due to the misleading advertising policy and lack of home exposure to the MLS. REX Real Estate is still a great option for buyers due to 50% buyer’s refund.

Where does REX Real Estate operate?

REX Real Estate currently operates in select areas across California, Texas, Colorado, New Jersey, and New York.