Compare Realtor.com ReadyConnect (Opcity) and Houwzer

For Sellers

Referred Agents
30%-40%
Referral Fee
Realtor.com Opcity does not provide real estate services to home sellers. Instead, this company “sorts and matches” consumers with various real estate agents in exchange for an undisclosed referral fee; typically these fees are 25%-40% of the agent’s entire commission. Realtor.com Opcity results suffer from pay-to-play bias because the network does not match consumers with agents unwilling to pay 25%-40% of their commission to Realtor.com Opcity.

For Sellers

Listing Rate
$5,000
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 Buyers

Referred Agents
30%-40%
Referral Fee
Realtor.com Opcity does not provide real estate services to home sellers. Instead, this company “sorts and matches” consumers with various real estate agents in exchange for an undisclosed referral fee; typically these fees are 30%-40% of the agent’s entire commission. Realtor.com Opcity results suffer from pay-to-play bias because the network does not match consumers with agents unwilling to pay 30%-40% of their commission to Realtor.com Opcity.

For Buyers

Not Applicable
0
No Rates
When Houwzer represents a buyer, it keeps the entire Buyer’s Agent Commission amount (2.5%-3%). A home buyer can always try to negotiate a refund amount with any real estate agent in Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., and New Jersey, but this company does not advertise buyer’s rebates openly.
Question: What is the difference between Realtor.com ReadyConnect (Opcity) and Houwzer?
Answer: Realtor.com ReadyConnect (Opcity) is a referral fee network that enables broker-to-broker collusion with use of blanket referral agreements while Houwzer is a full-service real estate agent that offers savings to homebuyers and home sellers
Compare Realtor.com ReadyConnect (Opcity) and Houwzer 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 Realtor.com ReadyConnect (Opcity)

WARNING: Unlawful Kickbacks, Broker-to-Broker Collusion, False Marketing, Wire Fraud, Price Fixing.

Realtor.com ReadyConnect (Opcity) is a broker-to-broker collusion scheme, where "partner agents" unlawfully agree to pay massive kickbacks to receive your information and engage in market allocation, consumer allocation, false advertising, unlawful kickbacks, wire fraud, and price-fixing practices in violation of, inter alia, 18 U.S.C. § 1346, 18 U.S.C. § 1343, 15 U.S.C. § 1, 15 U.S.C. § 45, 12 U.S.C. § 2607, 12 C.F.R. § 1024.14. As a consumer, you will always significantly overpay for Realtor commissions subject to hidden kickbacks and pay-to-play steering promoted in this scheme.

United States federal antitrust laws prohibit consumer allocation and blanket referral agreements between real estate companies.

Be smart; do not allow your information to be "sold as a lead" to a double-dealing Realtor in exchange for massive commission kickbacks paid from your future home sale, or your future home purchase.


Realtor.com ReadyConnect (Opcity) is a referral fee network designed to collect fees by matching consumers with local real estate agents willing to participate. Opcity operates as a licensed real estate brokerage in Texas under TREC License # 9005100, but it does not produce any services that are typically offered by real estate agents and does not represent consumers when buying or selling real estate in any State.

When consumers submit information to Realtor.com ReadyConnect (Opcity), this information is simply sold to real estate agents who are willing to pay for it with 30%-40% share of their commission.

Realtor.com ReadyConnect (Opcity) Pricing

Realtor.com ReadyConnect (Opcity) revenue comes from referral fees and sale of user data.

Listing Services

  • This Service Does Not Represent Sellers

Buyer's Agent Services

  • This Service Does Not Represent Buyers

Realtor.com ReadyConnect (Opcity) Editor's Review:

Opcity is a Texas licensed real estate broker that collects an undisclosed referral fee (estimated at 30%-40% of agent’s commission) from all real estate agents. This fee makes it hardly a free service for anyone since referral fees are inevitably passed down to consumers.

More importantly, Opcity is a real estate agent that “does not engage in actual real estate broker services.” Opcity systematically applies pay-to-play bias towards all matching results, meaning, only real estate agents that have agreed to pay a referral fee are matched with consumers.

Opcity audits all transactions and requires agents to update the status of each transaction on continued the basis because it needs to find out how much money real estate agents receive in commissions and when these fees will be due, inevitably collecting private details of consumer’s agreement for home purchase or sale.

Opcity further calls it a "dispatch process that matches agents to available leads based on lead's proximity, lead's price points." The main qualification for real estate agents who participate with Opcity is their willingness to pay a referral fee. With Opcity is a subsidiary brokerage for Realtor.com, what used to be an independent MLS Aggregator, now is a middle-man broker.

Realtor.com had acquired Opcity in 2018, making this scheme one of the most scaled and damaging Referral Fee Networks in the United States. Realtor.com Opcity scheme is the low point of a transparent real estate process. From Opcity's own description of the service, the nature of the process could not be clearer: "We send a lead alert via text or mobile push notification to the agent 1st in the queue. That agent has approximately 5 seconds to click-to-claim the lead alert before the 2nd agent receives a lead alert and can also click-to-claim the lead. 5 seconds later, another agent is alerted, and so on."

In this process Opcity "qualifies" and "dispatches" consumers, where consumers are no longer in the driver's seat, but instead, are traded as a commodity.

Opcity plays fees down, claiming there are "no upfront costs" and does not publically disclose the exact amount of referral fees it charges each agent, but it rigidly locks every participating real estate agent into a referral fee attached to the back-end of every contract. As a licensed real estate agent that doesn’t perform any real estate services or takes any responsibility for the transaction, it is not entirely clear how this process works under the Business and Professions Code and RESPA.

Clearly, real estate agents only sign-up with Opcity because the price of the referral fee can be easily incorporated into their client's agreement with excessive commissions.

Opcity receives the lowest score because this service is clearly biased and it claims to provide the complete opposite of what it actually does. Realtor.com Opcity must be well aware of this issue but continues to operate on pay-to-play methodology in order to collect fees that needlessly make home buying and selling more expensive. As a matter of this review, it is impossible to segregate Realtor.com from Opcity - consumers should avoid using either service in order to protect their information from being "sold as leads" to random agents while being subjected with heavy referral fees.

Where does Realtor.com ReadyConnect (Opcity) operate?

Realtor.com ReadyConnect (Opcity) currently operates in select areas across United States.

Buying and Selling with Houwzer

Houwzer is a multi-state savings broker, offers consumers listing savings and buyer’s refunds in select areas across Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., and New Jersey.

Houwzer Pricing

Houwzer offers savings to sellers ($5,000 flat listing fee)

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

Houwzer Editor's Review:

Houwzer is a consumer-focused flat fee real estate listing broker. Houwzer does not openly offer buyer’s refunds to buyers.

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

Houwzer does not openly offer buyer's refunds and keeps the entire Buyer's Agent Commission when it represents home buyers unless individually negotiated.

Houwzer offers a “bundle” rebate applied to the cost of listing if a consumers buys new home first. In order to qualify, a buyer must purchase a home with Houwzer and the company will reduce listing fee by $2,500 to sell buyer’s current home on the open market.

Where does Houwzer operate?

Houwzer currently operates in select areas across Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., and New Jersey..