Compare Reali and RedfinNow

For Sellers

Listing Rate
$950-$9,950
Flat Fee
Minimum commissions and other terms may apply. Buyer's Agent Commission (2.5%-3%) is not included, but sellers may be able to negotiate this as well.

For Sellers

Radius Agents
30%
Referral Fee
In 2019 Reali has entered into a market allocation agreement with Radius Agent to farm out clients Reali is unable to serve in exchange for referral fees to random real estate agents.

For Sellers

Cash Offers
15%-20%
Home Equity
RedfinNow does not provide real estate services to home sellers. Instead, the company buys homes directly, repairs and resells them to consumers or investment companies that rent them to tenants. RedfinNow make an offer equal to 80%-85% of home value accounting for fees and any cost of the repairs and resale.

For Buyers

Buyer’s Savings
$950-$9,950
Flat Fee
When Reali represents home buyers, it keeps only $950-$9,950 of its entire Buyer's Agent Commission (2.5%-3%), the rest of the amount is refunded to the buyer as a way to financially compete for buyer’s business. Home buyers do not pay any taxes on the amount, the refund amount is always tax-free.

For Buyers

Radius Agents
30%
Referral Fee
In 2019 Reali has entered into a market allocation agreement with Radius Agent to farm out clients Reali is unable to serve in exchange for referral fees to random real estate agents.

For Buyers

Not Applicable
0
No Rates
RedfinNow does not provide real estate services to home buyers. RedfinNow does resell some of the homes it buys on the open market, just like any other real estate investor aiming for the highest return on investment.
Question: What is the difference between Reali and RedfinNow?
Answer: Reali is a full-service real estate agent that offers savings to homebuyers and home sellers while RedfinNow is a direct home cash buyer that buys select homes off-market with cash offers and resells them at a profit to homebuyers
Compare Reali and RedfinNow 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 Reali

Reali is a California-based savings broker, offers consumers listing savings and buyer’s refunds in select areas across Northern and Southern California.

Reali Pricing

Reali offers flat fee listing at $950 for homes up to $250,000, $4,950 for homes up to $750,000, and $9,950 for homes priced over $750,000. Buyers receive a 100% refund of the Buyer’s Agent Commission (2.5%-3%) at the close of sale, minus a fee set at $950 for homes up to $250,000, $4,950 for homes up to $750,000, and $9,950 for homes priced over $750,000.

When Reali is unable or unwilling to provide services to buyers or sellers, it allocates consumers using a referral fee network called Radius Agent in exchange for a 30% referral fees.

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

Reali Editor's Review:

Reali is a consumer-focused real estate agent that successfully represents consumers across California and offers sizeable savings.

Reali pricing structure closely resembles a listing rate set at 1% of a home sale or a refund set at 67% for buyers; it is highly transparent.

Reali Agents are salaried client-service focused employees measured by customer satisfaction who are not motivated by commissions. Reali is a technology-driven agent that offers customers tools and data to drive an efficient real estate transaction process.

Reali service includes posting home on the MLS and MLS Aggregator services, professional photos and 3D images in addition to all typical services offered by a traditional real estate agent. Reali gives sellers access to a well-designed dashboard with great communication features.

For Buyers, Reali offers real-time listing notifications, on-demand home tours and a client web portal for monitoring the purchase process - making it easier to find and buy homes. Overall Reali offers an excellent proposition to Buyers and Sellers alike.

Consumer Allocation with Radius Agent

In 2019 Reali has entered into a market allocation agreement with Radius Agent to farm out clients Reali is unable to serve in exchange for referral fees to random real estate agents. Reali declined to comment on our request for details, but generally, the Radius Agent platform allows brokers to trade consumers’ information with other brokers in exchange for 30% in referral fees.

Radius Agent keeps a portion of the fee and Reali receives the rest. Consumer brokering is an act of selling information of potential home buyers and home sellers (paid referrals) between real estate brokers, in exchange for a cut of a broker’s commission.

Brokers on each side of the adopted scheme, cause direct damage to the real estate representation market with reverse competition, hidden referral fees, limited choices to consumers, unnecessary high commissions, and client confusion. Since these random referred brokers are not employed by Reali, they cannot offer consumers the same rates and benefits as Reali, in fact, Reali can never dictate any terms of such agreements.

Farming out leads with Radius Agent to random brokers is a pay-to-play scheme that serves no benefit to consumers. Consumers are highly likely to overpay for listing commissions and receive little or no refund when their information is traded as a commodity with use of the Radius Agent network. The added junk fee makes it impossible for agents to offer consumers competitive market rates.

Where does Reali operate?

Reali currently operates in select areas across California.

Buying and Selling with RedfinNow

RedfinNow is a real estate investment company, owned by Redfin. RedfinNow is one of the only direct home buyers that openly admits that when listing a home on the open market, sellers may be able to sell a home for more than RedfinNow's offer price.

RedfinNow does not represent sellers in the sale of their home. If a seller decides to sell to RedfinNow, neither Redfin nor RedfinNow will represent the seller's interests regarding the sale.

RedfinNow further recommends that sellers seek independent representation in the sale of a home, which directly contradicts the claim that RedfinNow process saves 4%-6% in traditional real estate agent commissions.

RedfinNow Pricing

RedfinNow makes money with a difference between buying and selling each home. This difference is a combination of fees and home value appreciation between what RedfinNow buys and seller each home for.

Sellers can expect to receive 80%-85% of their home value from this type of sale after any fees, cost of the minor repairs, and resale. RedfinNow claims 7% - 9% in service fees, but this amount does not include a discounted cash offer seller typically receives.

Listing Services

  • This Service Does Not Represent Sellers

Buyer's Agent Services

  • This Service Does Not Represent Buyers

RedfinNow Editor's Review:

RedfinNow will buy a home at a price that is below market value due to necessary repairs, renovation, and other factors. After RedfinNow buys the home, it renovates and resells it for a profit to other buyers or companies that rent homes to qualified tenants.

RedfinNow claims that its fees are limited by 7% - 9% RedfinNow fee, but this fee does not mean that RedfinNow will offer consumers a fair market offer. RedfinNow is not obligated to present consumers with a fair offer for their property because, unlike a real estate agent, it does not represent consumers when selling a home. Additionally, similar to a traditional home sale process, the seller is responsible for covering their closing costs. This typically includes (but is not limited to) title insurance policy, attorney and escrow fees, and any HOA transfer fees.

With higher fees comes a convenience of an all-cash closing when selling a home. RedfinNow claims to provide convenience, speed, and certainty of a fast sale. Dubbed as an iBuyer, RedfinNow makes an offer on a house within days or hours, but this offer is highly conditional.

Each offer RedfinNow makes is just an estimate, it is non-binding until the company makes a home inspection. At the inspection, RedfinNow will often find reasons to lower its original offer when it finds items that need repair or if it has made a mistake in its original valuation.

When the company is unable to make an offer, it simply redirects consumers to a real estate agent - either a Redfin Agent or a partner Agent in exchange for a 30% referral fee. RedfinNow offers fast home sales, but these are typically accompanied by higher fees. RedfinNow only makes offers to select homes in select regions.

The main disadvantage of using RedfinNow is high losses in homeowners’ equity. RedfinNow is a “heavy” model, backed by a large amount of VC capital ready to buy homes in all-cash transactions. As any real estate investor, RedfinNow is susceptible to losing money in any given transaction. This model is susceptible to a number of risk factors, high operational costs and a continued need for higher-than-average Return on Investment (ROI) with each flip. RedfinNow is not legally bound to represent consumers, its main legal obligation is to its shareholders.

RedfinNow’s fast transaction and easy move-out experience typically come at an extremely high price because this model incurs “double” transaction costs during the purchase, holding period, rehab work and final sale that includes real estate agent fees. RedfinNow pays real estate agent commissions like any other buyer and seller of real estate, so these costs must be accounted for in the company’s fee structure.

The facts continue to point against RedfinNow’s claims that it offers fair value for the houses it buys. Moreover, because most homes in the United States are financed, homeowners own only partial net equity in their home. Banks receive the same amount of the remaining mortgage sum regardless of how any given home is sold, whereas only homeowners’ net equity is lost in transaction fees paid to RedfinNow.

Typically RedfinNow uses the following factors when determining the offer: existing condition of the home including repairs needed, time it will take to finish needed repairs, value of a home compared to other comparable homes in the area, real estate commission required to resell, costs associated with maintaining a home during repairs, including taxes, payments, insurance, utilities and homeowner dues.

Today, there are a number of highly qualified real estate agents who offer competitive listing rates and flat fee listings across the United States. Unless a situation absolutely requires a quick sale, HomeOpenly recommends that consumers first consider using a licensed real estate agent working on competitive terms to properly list their homes on the open market before turning to RedfinNow option.

Some real estate agents are now offering Concierge services that include painting, landscaping, and other services that help consumers place their home on the open market without upfront costs and high loss to home equity.

Where does RedfinNow operate?

RedfinNow currently operates in select areas across Orange County, San Diego and the Inland Empire in California .