Overall rating | Quality of service | Marketing | Customer experience | Cost | User friendliness | Methodology

ListingSpark is a listing platform that offers FSBO services to nine major markets in Texas. Founded in 2013, ListingSpark made a big name for itself as a "$7 per day" listing service. Recently, the company restructured its payment tiers and now offers a slew of listing services for a whopping $1,500–$3,000.

Bottom line: Do we recommend ListingSpark?

ListingSpark’s basic package, Spark Plan, seems like a good deal for experienced FSBO sellers, though the price is higher than most listing services. For about $1,500, the package comes with almost everything you need to sell your home: such as listing on the MLS and 1,000 other listing sites (such as Zillow), closing assistance, and a 150-point marketing plan that matches your listing with buyers. The only essential service missing is pricing assistance.

The Premium Plan, however, is not worth the extra $1,500 — even with pricing assistance. You’re better off selling your home with a professional real estate agent who charges a discounted commission rate.

ListingSpark vs. top FFMLS alternatives

In-depth breakdown

Quality of service

ListingSpark offers sellers in Texas a slew of good services, even with its basic plan. The Spark Plan can be ideal for experienced FSBO sellers who just want some assistance with closing. But you won't get pricing assistance or a comparative marketing analysis (CMA).

We don’t recommend the Premium Plan. For double the cost of the basic plan, you'll get pricing assistance, and a real estate professional will review your listing, answer your questions, and offer guidance. But for that price, you might get as much support from a full-service discount broker.

» SEE: ListingSpark's costs and fees

The other premium services (such as photography and open house signage) are nonessential and not worth the extra cost.

ListingSpark also offers sellers assistance with closing, which includes title and escrow services. This can actually be a really good deal: title services alone can account for 0.65% of the home’s final sale price, or an average of $1,963. The only downside is that you have to use ListingSpark’s own service, Spark Title, which may or may not be the best value for your dollar.

Marketing

Both ListingSpark plans will list your home on the MLS and over 1,000 real estate websites, such as Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com, and Redfin. That'll get you the maximum exposure.

ListingSpark also boasts a software that runs your listing through a 150-point marketing plan to match it with the perfect buyer. But it's unclear how the software works, or how well, so we didn't give the company extra points. ListingSpark’s own property search webpage gets very few visitors ( around 1,000 per month).

One downside is that ListingSpark is only active in specific cities, so your listing won't get exposure across Texas.

Customer experience

ListingSpark’s has positive customer reviews and an A+ on the Better Business Bureau. The 146 reviews on Google averaged to a rating of 4.5 out of 5 — that’s really good, especially considering that most users use third-party review sites to voice complaints.

We also ran those reviews through a program that identifies emotional language. Here are some of the recurring themes our program picked up on:

Cost

ListingSpark offers two packages to FSBO sellers in Texas: Spark Plan ($1,499) and Premium Spark ($2,999).

Spark Plan can be a good deal for experienced FSBO sellers who want some assistance with closing. For a $350,000 home, paying $1,499 for a listing service is around 0.43% of the sale price. That’s less expensive than a 1.5% listing agent, but you won’t get pricing assistance, which is one of the most challenging parts about FSBO.

Premium Plan offers marginally more services that aren't worth the price. If you're budgeting around $3,000 for home selling, you're better off investing that money in a quality real estate agent — and possibly get a higher sale price as a result.

ListingSpark cancellation policy

When you list with ListingSpark, you’ll pay a small amount of the plan’s total price up front and the rest at closing. That fee is $250 for the Spark Plan and $500 for Premium. If you cancel your listing before your home sells, you'll still pay the remainder of your plan.

ListingSpark fees

ListingSpark may help you avoid paying a listing agent. But you’ll still be responsible for paying commission for the buyer's agent (usually 2 to 3%). If your buyer finds your listing without a licensed real estate agent, ListingSpark will charge you a "transaction facilitation fee" of $350.

User friendliness

After creating a free account and testing out the software, we were very impressed with how fast and easy to use ListingSpark’s platform is. A large Knowledge Center also provides free resources and guides on FSBO, as well as some troubleshooting tips with the software itself.

You’ll see your remaining tasks and the estimated time to complete them. These times are somewhat inaccurate, however, as ListingSpark expects you to have completed certain tasks beforehand (such as crafting your own listing description and having photos ready).

Next steps

If you’re planning to sell your home FSBO in Texas, then we think ListingSpark’s "Spark Plan" could be worth trying. But if you decide partway through that you don’t want to sell your home through ListingSpark, you won’t get a refund for your plan.

If you're on the fence about FSBO, you might want to look at some low-commission real estate brands first. You’ll pay more to hire a licensed listing agent to represent you, but you might get a higher sale price for your home as a result.

Methodology

We evaluated the each flat fee MLS (FFMLS) and for sale by owner (FSBO) listing service based on five core criteria and created a weighted score:

• Quality and range of services (25% of final score)
• Brand recognition and marketing methods (25%)
• Customer reviews and experience (15%)
• Cost value (25%)
• User friendliness (10%)

The post ListingSpark: Should You Use It for Your FSBO Sale? appeared first on Semya-Moya.

SimplyFSBO is a flat-fee listing service that helps FSBO sellers market their homes in the Quad Cities of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport and Bettendorf of southeastern Iowa; Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline in northwestern Illinois.

Listing with SimplyFSBO will not get your home on the MLS. Instead, your property will be listed and marketed on SimplyFSBO’s own website, along with Zillow and Trulia. Its listing packages are pretty expensive ($499 for basic and $699 for premium), but they do provide essential services that could help FSBO sellers market their properties to buyers.

If you’re thinking about signing up with SimplyFSBO, let’s take a deeper dive into this flat-fee listing service and see if it’s worth your time.

Bottom line: Do we recommend SimplyFSBO?

Based on our assessment below, we don’t think SimplyFSBO is right for every FSBO seller.

Perhaps the biggest downside with SimplyFSBO is that it doesn’t place your property on a local MLS, which can shrink your pool of potential buyers. Instead, your home will be listed on SimplyFSBO’s own website, along with Zillow and Trulia. This might be okay if SimplyFSBO’s website got heavy traffic frequently. But, as we’ll see below, the site has only around 1,600 unique visitors each month—much less than the 20,000 they advertise.

SimplyFSBO is more expensive than other flat fee listing sites. While some of its services are unique and worth the price (such as Matterport-powered 3D tours and Google ads), you’re basically paying a markup to list your home on its website, which may not be the best value for your dollar.

If you’d like to explore some other options (especially ones that put you on the MLS), you can check out our guide to the best flat-fee listing services.

SimplyFSBO vs. top FFMLS alternatives

In-depth breakdown

Quality of services

FSBO Essential vs. FSBO Pro 3D

The FSBO Essential plan will keep your listing live until your home is sold. Other listing services will list your home between 6 and 12 months. You won't get on the MLS, which will limit your exposure. But your home will be listed to Zillow and Trulia, which can help you advertise to out-of-state buyers, especially those unfamiliar with SimplyFSBO’s webpage.

A professional photographer will visit your home to take pictures. Note: these photographs will be watermarked with the "SimplyFSBO" logo, which is very conspicuous and often distracting. Your Essential package will also come with printable flyers and a custom sign. But these services are pretty fluffy and don’t contribute to the $499 price tag.

In addition to the Essential services listed, Pro offers 3D showings powered by Matterport, which lets buyers "walk" around the home point by point, measure space with a ruler, view rooms in virtual reality, and share the space on social media. SimplyFSBO will advertise your home with geotargeted paid ads.

The Pro 3D plan will also connect you with a dedicated FSBO adviser to answer questions about the process — but they’re NOT licensed real estate agents and they can’t offer you the services a realtor can (such as assistance with pricing your home, negotiating, and closing).

Marketing

SimplyFSBO will list your home on its own website, Zillow, and Trulia, but it doesn’t put you on the MLS. That can severely limit who sees your home, as most licensed real estate agents will use the MLS to match listings with buyers. SimpleFSBO will also run paid ads on Facebook and Google (under the $699 plan). None of these replace an MLS listing, but they could expand your pool of potential home buyers.

Although SimplyFSBO claims it gets heavy website traffic, our analysis shows that the site gets only about 1,600 visitors per month. That’s not a large pool of buyers, especially if you’re paying up to $700.

Customer experience

Right now, SimplyFSBO has 61 reviews on Google, with an aggregate rating of 4.9 stars — no Better Business Bureau profile. When we ran those reviews through an emotional language detector, we found the following themes:

Cost

SimplyFSBO costs slightly more than the average FFMLS. Most listing services have basic plans that range about $300–400, while SimplyFSBO's basic plan for $499 and a premium plan for $699.

Under the Essential plan, you get a listing on simplyfsbo.com, professional photography, a custom sign, printable flyers, disclosures, and paperwork. These alone don't justify the high price. Other FSBO websites will give you all of these plus a listing on the MLS and other popular real estate sites for a much more reasonable price (usually somewhere around $300).

The FSBO Pro 3D plan, however, does offer unique value: a high-quality 3D showing of your home. If you're willing to spend more for this service, then the $699 Pro plan is a good deal. (A Matterport camera costs up to $4,000, plus the monthly subscription for the software to create the 3D design.)

User friendliness

The SimplyFSBO website is fast and easy to navigate. Customers who left reviews were generally satisfied with how user friendly and efficient they were. Here are the steps to list your home on SimplyFSBO:

1. Select a plan. You’ll fill out a questionnaire and add information on your property.
2. Finish your listing. SimplyFSBO will send a photographer to your home (or you can upload your own). You'll get a price estimate and then make edits to your listing before it goes live.
3. Find a buyer. All offers on your home will go to a digital portal.
4. Connect with an attorney. After you and the buyer make an agreement, SimplyFSBO will connect you with a real estate attorney to continue the transaction.

SimplyFSBO contact info

Next steps

If you’re determined to sell your home by yourself, we would recommend looking at other flat fee listing services first. The plans on SimplyFSBO are expensive and may not offer you the best value for your dollar. This is especially true if you want to be listed on the MLS, as SimplyFSBO doesn’t offer that service.

If you're on the fence about selling your home yourself, consider other ways to save money. A low-commission real estate company, for example, can connect you with agents who charge 2% or less without sacrificing services.

Methodology

We evaluated the value and quality of flat fee MLS (FFMLS) and for sale by owner (FSBO) listing services based on five core criteria:

• Quality and range of services
• Brand recognition and marketing methods
• Customer reviews and experience
• Cost value
• User friendliness

The post SimplyFSBO: Should You Use It for Your FSBO Sale? appeared first on Semya-Moya.

Overall rating | Customer experience | Agent quality | Brand visibility and reach | Service value | Locations | Methodology

Allure Realty is a luxury real estate brokerage that serves buyers and sellers in Florida and parts of North Carolina. Founded in 2019, Allure exploded in popularity after it was featured on the Netflix series Selling Tampa. Since then, the company has opened new offices in Charleston, NC, and Miami, with plans to expand to more cities in the South.

Riding on a wave of enthusiasm from its Netflix series, Allure Realty has established a strong name for luxury services. But how does it compare with other brokerages? And does its reputation stack up against its agents and services?

Bottom line: Do we recommend Allure Realty?

Based on our analysis, Allure Realty is a reputable brokerage. It caters mostly to luxury home buyers and sellers, with extra attention to military families who have to relocate and sell quickly.

The Allure team isn’t big by industry standards (26 agents across three offices), but it has completed an impressive 129 transactions since 2019. The average agent has 11 years of experience, higher than the industry’s median of eight. Plus, customer reviews are overwhelmingly positive, with few negative themes.

Just remember: whether you’re buying or selling, always pay attention to the agent, not the brand they represent. In order to find the right fit for you, we recommend interviewing two or three agents (ideally from different brokerages).

Allure Realty: Our in-depth breakdown

Reputation and customer experience

After digging into 160 reviews across three offices, we found zero negative reviews on Zillow (in fact, every review of Allure is a 5/5) and an aggregate customer rating of 4.6. That’s very high when compared with other brokerages.

To identify common themes, we ran those 160 reviews through a program that identifies emotional language:

Considering that the quality of the Netflix show doesn't correlate to real estate, we can think the positive themes here clearly outbalanced the negative. These reviews came from third-party sites, too, which clients often use for complaints rather than praises. Note: since Allure is featured on a reality show, any unverified reviews should be taken with a grain of salt.

As far as the Better Business Bureau goes, Allure doesn’t have a page. That’s not a bad thing. It just means the company hasn’t received any reviews or complaints through the BBB.

Agent quality

The agents at Allure Realty bring in high sales numbers, even though the team has slightly less experience on average. Here are some stats that we found:

• Average agent has 5.6 years of experience.
• Average agent completes 4.9 transactions per year.
• Company has sold $110 million of property since 2019.

Based on the eight agents who listed their experience on Zillow, they average more than five years of experience. That’s slightly lower than the industry median of eight years.

Since 2019, Allure has finished 129 transactions. With 26 agents on staff, that comes out to around 4.9 transactions per agent. While that’s lower than the industry average (12 transactions, roughly one per month), it’s not bad when you consider that the company deals mostly with luxury homes, which take longer to sell.

All told, that’s roughly $32.25 million per year, or $1.24 million per agent annually, which is high for a company of this size.

Still, you’ll want to evaluate individual agents and ask for their sales numbers, number of years in the business, and references from past clients.

Brand reach and visibility

Allure Realty has an exceptionally strong brand reach when compared with other brokerages. Few brokerages can say they’ve been featured on Netflix — even if it was for only one season.

That said, the company’s online traffic isn’t too impressive — not bad, but still lower than other real estate brokerages. Each month, around 14,000 people search "Allure Realty" and related branded terms on Google, while the company’s website gets over 12,000 visits.

Its local networks are mildly strong, with agents concentrated in three major cities, all presided by founder, Sharelle Rosado:

• Tampa (15 agents)
• Miami (8 agents)
• Charlotte (2 agents)

Service value

Allure Realty has a good value. You get all the traditional services of a full-service brokerage — assistance with listing and marketing your home, property valuations, mortgage calculator for buyers, and property showings — plus a few extras.

One of Allure’s distinguishing features is the attention it gives to military families, which makes sense given that its founder is a former paratrooper. Customers have applauded the company's ability to sell homes for top price, even while working within a tight deadline.

As a luxury services provider, most of Allure’s listed properties sell above $1 million. If you’re buying or selling in a lower value range, you might be better served at another brokerage.

It’s unlikely that you’ll negotiate a lower commission rate with an Allure listing agent, no matter what competitive rates are. For reference, here are the state averages for the three markets Allure operates in:

» MORE: Average Commission Rates Across the U.S.

Additional info about Allure Realty

General contact info (corporate office)

Other Allure Realty services

This review is focused on Allure Realty's core real estate agent service. We’ve listed its other services (mortgage, title, insurance, etc.) and links to their respective websites below.

Make sure you shop around to get the best fit and value. Don’t go with an Allure service just because of the convenience!

• Home valuation

• Government contracting

Keep in mind that Allure Realty is a luxury brand that charges full commission for its services. Unless you’re selling a luxury home, it’s wise to show around among other brokerages to find the right combination of quality and price.

Next steps: Start interviewing agents!

Interview multiple agents (ideally two to three) to ensure you get the best fit and value. Remember: always hire the agent, not the brand. When you’re ready to start searching, check out our guide on how to choose the right real estate agent. Clever’s free agent-matching service makes agent shopping fast and easy, and it can save you money.

Rating methodology

We evaluate brokerages based on four core criteria we think will help readers make informed decisions. We broke those criteria down into discrete metrics so we could make the score as objective as possible. Here’s a quick breakdown of that criteria and methodology:

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Overall rating | Customer experience | Agent quality | Brand visibility and reach | Service value | Locations | Methodology

Founded in 1978, Surf or Sound Realty is a small brokerage on Hatteras Island serving all seven of the island’s villages. With 2 main offices and roughly 6 agents on staff, Surf and Sound specializes in premier oceanfront and soundfront homes, most located in the Outer Banks, North Carolina.

Below we’ll analyze Surf or Sound in four main areas to help you decide if it's the best option for you.

Bottom line: Do we recommend Surf or Sound Realty?

After looking at Surf or Sound Realty closely, we think the brokerage is a good value. It offers all the services buyers and sellers need to successfully close on a real estate transaction. It's active in the local community. And buyers and sellers alike are very pleased with the professionalism and quality of the brokerage.

The realty's agents have more experience than most realtors: 18 years, versus the industry median of eight years. The ratio of agents to listings is also very high: roughly 216 listings per agent.

Surf or Sound Realty may be reliable, but that doesn’t mean you should skip properly evaluating its agents. Whether you’re buying or selling, we highly recommend you sit down and interview at least two or three agents (from numerous brokerages if you can) before dedicating yourself to one.

Surf or Sound Realty: Our in-depth breakdown

Reputation and customer experience

We analyzed 13 reviews for two agents, which were mostly positive. The aggregate customer rating across all sites is 4.95. That’s very high when compared with similar brokerages in the same area.

We also ran these 13 reviews through an AI program that detects emotional language. Some common themes on both positive and negative reviews were the following:

Negative, neutral, and positive reviews were fairly balanced. This is despite the fact that reviewers will often use third-party sites to tell about a bad experience more often than a good one.

Sound's property management services had an aggregate rating of 3.6, as well as a 1-star rating across 25 reviews and 176 complaints on the Better Business Bureau. Again, these reviews came mostly from short-term renters and vacationers and may only impact you if you plan to use their property management services.

Agent quality

According to Realtor.com, three of its agents average 18 years of experience. But the company website doesn’t link properties to the agents representing them without you signing up with an email.

Based on the total number of listings (at least 1,300), we can assume each agent handles around 216 listings, which is very high. That could mean the agents are either hard-working and fast or spread thin and may not give your property sale or home search the close attention it deserves.

Even if the agents seem experienced and knowledgeable, we still recommend evaluating whomever the brokerage connects you with. Always spend some time interviewing individual agents: ask them about their sales numbers, how many transactions they close per year, how long they’ve been in real estate, and references from past clients.

Brand reach and visibility

Compared with similar brokerages, Surf or Sound Realty has decent brand reach and digital visibility.

Surf or Sound has a tight-knit local network. Six agents and two offices service a small island of only 15.8 square miles. That means there's roughly one agent for every two or three square miles. The tighter the network, the more easily the brokerage can connect homes for sale with buyers.

Around 9,900 people search "Surf or Sound Realty" and other branded terms on Google each month. The website also gets just over 38,900 visits every month and has 1,300 active listings. Those are good numbers for sellers, since greater visibility can introduce your home to more buyers.

Service value

Overall, Surf or Sound Realty Realty provides a good value for a brokerage that charges full commission (5–6%). Agents assist buyers in numerous property types:

It also provides sellers with the standard services you’d expect from a full-service brokerage, including a CMA to gauge home value, assistance with listing and marketing your home, and guidance through negotiations and closing. The brokerage doesn’t appear to offer common services like drone photography or 3D walk-throughs, though.

» MORE: The Best 2% Commission Realtors (2022 Rankings)

Keep in mind: if you sell your home through a Surf or Sound Realty agent, you’ll most likely pay fixed commission rates — whatever the local competitive rates are. For reference, here are the market averages for North Carolina, where Surf or Sound Realty does business:

» MORE: Average Commission Rates Across the U.S. 2022

Additional info about Surf or Sound Realty

General contact info (corporate office)

Surf or Sound Realty local offices and contact information

Other Surf or Sound Realty services

This review is focused on Surf or Sound's core real estate agent service. We’ve listed its other services and links to their respective websites below.

• Financing

• Property report

• Property management

Make sure you shop around to get the best fit and value. Don’t go with a Surf or Sound service just because of the convenience!

Next steps: Start interviewing agents!

Interview multiple agents (ideally two to three) to ensure you get the best fit and value. Remember: always hire the agent, not the brand. When you’re ready to start searching, check out our guide on how to choose the right real estate agent. Clever’s free agent-matching service makes agent shopping fast and easy, and it can save you money.

Rating methodology

We evaluate brokerages based on four core criteria we think will help readers make informed decisions. We broke those criteria down into discrete metrics so we could make the score as objective as possible. Here’s a quick breakdown of that criteria and methodology:

The post Surf or Sound Realty Review: Is it Worth It? appeared first on Semya-Moya.

Overall rating | Customer experience | Agent quality | Brand visibility and reach | Service value | Locations | Methodology

Watson Realty is a full-service brokerage headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. Since its founding in 1965, Watson Realty has grown into one of the most reputable real estate companies in northeastern Florida and southeastern Georgia.

Bottom line: Do we recommend Watson Realty?

Watson Realty is definitely worth considering for buyers and sellers in parts of Florida and Georgia. As a full service brokerage, sellers can expect all the services they need to sell their homes — pricing assistance, professional photography, MLS listing — plus some help with buying a home before selling theirs.

For one, the company has a huge presence in northeastern and central Florida, with the majority of its 48 offices centralized in Jacksonville and Orlando. Its workforce of nearly 1,400 agents are highly experienced, and previous clients have left the company stellar reviews on Google.

Notwithstanding its good reputation, it’s always best to choose an agent because you like them, not because they come from a great brand. We would still advise you to interview a Watson Realty agent before working with the company, to ensure the agent is the best fit for you.

Watson Realty: Our in-depth breakdown

Reputation and customer experience

Customers are generally satisfied with their experience working with Watson Realty agents. In fact, the aggregate rating of the reviews on Google is 4.3. That’s fairly high, especially since many people use third-party sites (like Google and Yelp) to complain rather than praise.

When we ran these 500+ reviews through an AI program that detects emotional language, we found the following themes:

In general, previous clients were very pleased with their agents. The biggest complaints were about its property management services, which may or may not be relevant to you. Watson Realty has zero reviews and zero complaints with the Better Business Bureau.

Agent quality

Most Watson Realty agents have around 14.3 years of experience, far exceeding the industry median of 8 years. Agents typically complete around 9.3 transactions annually, which is fewer than the industry average (12 transactions per year) but still good considering the brokerage itself completes a high number of transactions (12,992 in 2021).

Many previous clients praised their agents' professionalism and expertise and were generally satisfied with how quickly and seamlessly agents sold their home. If you interview a Watson Realty agent, ask them for sales numbers and references, and make sure they're right for you.

Brand reach and visibility

Watson Realty has around 5,000 active listings, and its roughly 1,400 agents are spread across 48 offices in Florida. Most of these offices are concentrated in Jacksonville and Orlando, which could mean connecting you with buyers and listings faster.

The company website gets more than 42,000 visits every month, while many real estate companies of the same size get less than half that. And around 9,400 people search "watson realty" and other branded terms on Google monthly — another impressive number for a regional brokerage.

Service value

With Watson Realty, sellers get all the standard benefits of a full-service brokerage, as well as advice on profitable home repairs and marketing strategies. Watson Realty can also help you buy a new house before you sell your current home by converting your equity into cash.

» LEARN: How Do You Buy a House Before You Sell Yours?

If you hire a listing agent directly from Watson Realty to help you sell, you likely won't be able to negotiate their commission. For a frame of reference, here are the average listing rates for Florida and Georgia:

» MORE: Average Commission Rates Across the U.S.

Additional info about Watson Realty

General contact info (corporate office)

Watson Realty local offices and contact information

You can search for Watson Realty's offices on its website. Below are some popular locations, based on those that get the most search on Google.

Other Watson Realty services

This review is focused on Watson Realty's core real estate agent service. We’ve listed its other services (mortgage, title, insurance, etc.) and links to their respective websites below.

Make sure you shop around to get the best fit and value. Don’t go with a Watson service just because of the convenience!

• Rental management
• Mortgage
• Title insurance
• Home trade-in
• Construction
• Relocation

Next steps: Start interviewing agents!

Interview multiple agents (ideally two to three) to ensure you get the best fit and value. Remember: always hire the agent, not the brand. When you’re ready to start searching, check out our guide on how to choose the right real estate agent. Clever’s free agent matching service makes agent shopping fast and easy, and it can save you money.

Rating methodology

We evaluate brokerages based on four core criteria we think will help readers make informed decisions. We broke those criteria down into discrete metrics so we could make the score as objective as possible. Here’s a quick breakdown of that criteria and methodology:

The post Watson Realty Review: Is it Worth It? appeared first on Semya-Moya.

Overall rating | Customer experience | Agent quality | Brand visibility and reach | Service value | Locations | Methodology

Brown Harris Stevens was founded in 1873, which makes it one of the oldest and most prestigious real estate brokerages in the U.S. The company has over 4,000 agents who operate in major cities in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Florida. The agents at Brown Harris Stevens have the second highest average sales price in the U.S, as well as one of the highest sales volumes per agent.

Let's dive into the company’s services and see if they’re a good fit for you.

Bottom line: Do we recommend Brown Harris Stevens?

Brown Harris Stevens is worth considering if you’re buying or selling a luxury home in one of their markets.

The agents at Brown Harris Stevens are some of the best in the industry. On average they have over 20 years of experience each. And they close around four multimillion-dollar transactions per year.

Brown Harris Stevens’ services include MLS Listing, professional pricing, HD photography, and advanced marketing. The brokerage also has analysts and economists on staff who produce quarterly reports and market analyses. This information can help you determine the right time to buy or sell.

The company does have some negative reviews about its agents. Some reviewers described the agents as rude, unresponsive or bad at communicating. That’s why it’s a good idea to evaluate agents and not just a brand. Never let a big name like Brown Harris Stevens replace a thorough interview.

Brown Harris Stevens: Our in-depth breakdown

Reputation and customer experience

Brown Harris Stevens has fewer public reviews and lower ratings than most brokerages of the same size. On Google alone, which has 42 reviews, Brown Harris Stevens has only a 3.7 rating. Most brokerages have at least a 4 on average on Google.

The negative reviews are mostly from past clients who had a poor experience with an agent. These reviewers described the agents as "rude" or "dismissive." Other reviews mentioned problems with viewing homes or connecting with their agent.

Customers often use third-party review sites to voice complaints rather than praise. We recommend taking complaints with a grain of salt. We'll help you look at the whole picture before picking a broker.

Brown Harris Stevens has an A+ rating on the Better Business Bureau (BBB). It has zero formal BBB complaints, but it also has zero BBB reviews.

Agent quality

Brown Harris Stevens agents have more than double the industry median of eight years. According to the company’s website, its agents have an average of over 20 years of experience buying and selling homes. To verify this, we checked out the experience of the 38 Brown Harris Stevens agents on Realtor.com. The average was 18.9 years.

In 2021, agents at Brown Harris Stevens had the second highest average sale price in the U.S. — around $1.526 million per home. They also had one of the highest average sales volumes per agent, roughly $8.1 million. Most agents complete around 4.2 transactions per year. That’s far less than the industry average of 12. But the company’s agents are focusing on luxury homes with high sales prices.

The agents at Brown Harris Stevens are top notch, but they might not be the best fit for you, especially if you have an average home. We recommend evaluating agents individually, no matter which brokerage they represent. Interview agents, ask for sales numbers and references, and decide for yourself if they’re a good fit.

Brand reach and visibility

Brown Harris Stevens has excellent brand reach and online visibility. According to our research, the company gets over 47,700 site visits and over 8,400 Google searches every month. Those numbers are impressive for a real estate company with only 3,000 active listings.

Brown Harris Stevens also has a robust network of local agents. The company has over 4,000 agents with a dense coverage of the eight markets where it does business. This coverage can be a major advantage for buyers and sellers because agents can potentially connect you with listings and buyers faster.

Service value

Brown Harris Stevens’ services seem to have great value. It offers a lot of special services all for an average full commission.

The company is a full-service brokerage, so you can expect all the essential services, including:

• MLS listing and syndication across all major real estate sites
• Listing on Brown Harris Stevens’ self-branded listing page
• Industry-leading guidance on how to price your home
• Marketing plan with social media promotion
• Professional HD photography
• Agent-led home showings
• Help with negotiations and closing

Brown Harris Stevens is also fairly unique in that it has an on-staff chief economist and team of research professionals who analyze current and future market trends. And the company has an analytics team that tracks larger price movements in Brown Harris Stevens’ markets. These expert services can help you price your home competitively and decide when to sell.

Brown Harris Stevens agents will likely charge you full commission no matter what local competitive rates are. To give you an idea of those rates, here are the averages for the states Brown Harris Stevens operates in.

» MORE: Average Commission Rates Across the U.S. 2022

Additional info about Brown Harris Stevens

General contact info (corporate office)

Brown Harris Stevens local offices and contact information

You can view all of its offices on the Brown Harris Stevens website. We've also listed the locations that get the most searches on Google, indicating they're probably popular or in a highly populated area.

Next step: start interviewing agents!

To ensure you find the best agent for you, we recommend interviewing at least two to three (ideally from different brokerages). We also recommend that you look past big brands and companies and evaluate agents on an individual basis. For guidance on how to interview and choose agents wisely, you can read our guide.

When you’re ready to start finding agents, Clever can give you a headstart: our free agent-matching service will put you into contact with great agents in your area (and you might save some money in the process, too).

Rating methodology

We evaluate brokerages based on four core criteria we think will help readers make informed decisions. We broke those criteria down into discrete metrics so we could make the score as objective as possible. Here’s a quick breakdown of that criteria and methodology:

The post Is Brown Harris Stevens Worth It? An Honest Review appeared first on Semya-Moya.

Overall rating | Customer experience | Agent quality | Brand visibility and reach | Service value | Locations | Methodology

United Real Estate is a Texas-based company that offers essential services to buyers and sellers in 32 states. The company has more than 12,000 agents and 49 offices. It was founded in 2011 and has quickly become the eighth largest real estate brokerage in the U.S. by sales volume alone.

As large and prestigious as United Real Estate is, size alone doesn’t guarantee they’re the right fit for your needs. Below we’ll delve deeper into this growing company and see if they might be a good match for you.

Bottom line: Do we recommend United Real Estate?

United Real Estate is a great brokerage option because of its affordability, high quality customer experience, and brand recognition.

The company provides buyers and sellers with all the essential services they need to be successful. Sellers get listings on the MLS and other sites, as well as a marketing plan tailored to their specific property. Buyers get help finding properties that fit their budget, as well as help negotiating the sale price.

United Real Estate has great coverage, with 12,000 and 49 offices throughout the major cities where it operates. And agents at United Real Estate likely have more experience than the industry median. But they complete fewer transactions than the average agent.

United Real Estate is a good choice, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best fit for you. We recommend interviewing your local United Real Estate agent before deciding if you want to work with them.

United Real Estate: Our in-depth breakdown

Reputation and customer experience

United Real Estate doesn’t have a ton of reviews, but the ones it does have are pretty positive.

The company’s locations all have different ratings and reviews. We looked at the reviews for all its locations and calculated an average rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars from 121 Google reviews. A 4.3 is pretty good, especially considering that most people use third-party sites to complain rather than praise.

We ran these reviews through a program that identifies emotional language. Here are some themes we found.

Positive reviewers appreciated the agent’s attentiveness, communication, and ability to find homes quickly. A lot of the negative reviews came from repeat sellers who mentioned surprise fees and higher-than-expected commissions.

United Real Estate has various Better Business Bureau (BBB) profiles for each location. But none of the locations have BBB accreditation, and only one location has a BBB score (D+ with one open complaint).

Agent quality

United Real Estate agents have more experience than the average agent, but the number of transactions per agent is lower than the industry average.

Of the 74 agents we have data on, the average experience is 18.7 years — more than double the industry median of 8.

The company has completed 48,840 transactions in the last year. That comes out to roughly 3.9 transactions per agent, which is lower than the industry average of 12.

We don’t have data on every single United Real Estate agent, so we recommend interviewing them individually. Ask them how long they’ve been working in your market, how many transactions they finish in a year, and if they have references from past clients.

Brand reach and visibility

United Real Estate has a strong network of agents and offices within the 31 states in which it operates.

The offices are strategically located in major cities and metropolitan areas. The company has done an excellent job focusing on one or two primary markets within a state, rather than scattering agents throughout different locations. That means the local networks and agents can help you connect faster with buyers and listings. But if you’re in a remote part of those states, they might not be the best choice for you.

The United Real Estate web traffic is not bad but not exceptional. The main page gets roughly 5,700 visits per month, according to our analytics tool. That’s not a lot of volume, especially for a company that has more than 12,000 agents. Our tool also calculated that roughly 6,400 people Google "United Real Estate" each month.

Service value

United Real Estate has stellar value for a full-service brokerage, even if they do likely charge full commission.

Its services for sellers include:

• MLS listing

• Syndication on listing sites like Zillow and Trulia

• Listing on company websites

• A marketing plan tailored to your home and needs

• Virtual tours with a customized URL

• Social media promotion

• Open houses

• A yard sign

Buyers can get help finding a home that matches their criteria, as well as help with negotiations and closing.

If you hire an agent from United Real Estate to help you sell your home, you should expect to pay full commission no matter what the local competitive rates are. For reference, here are the state averages for the markets United Real Estate operates in:

» MORE: Average Commission Rates Across the U.S. 2022

Additional info about United Real Estate

General contact info (corporate office)

Next steps: start interviewing agents!

To ensure you find the best agent for you, we recommend interviewing at least two to three (ideally from different brokerages). We also recommend that you look past big brands and companies and evaluate agents on an individual basis. For guidance on how to interview and choose agents wisely, you can read our guide.

When you’re ready to start finding agents, Clever can give you a headstart: our free agent-matching service will put you into contact with great agents in your area (and you might save some money in the process, too).

Rating methodology

We evaluate brokerages based on four core criteria we think will help readers make informed decisions. We broke those criteria down into discrete metrics so we could make the score as objective as possible. Here’s a quick breakdown of that criteria and methodology:

The post Is United Real Estate Worth It? An Honest Review appeared first on Semya-Moya.

Overall rating | Customer experience | Agent quality | Brand visibility and reach | Service value | Methodology

Baird & Warner is a family-owned real estate brokerage that services buyers and sellers in the Chicago metropolitan area. It's been around since before the Great Chicago Fire, giving it more than 150 years to build its brand and reputation across the entire Chicagoland area. Today, it has 2,400+ agents covering operations in 29 offices.

Bottom line: Do we recommend Baird & Warner?

If you’re looking to buy or sell in Chicagoland, you'll probably be losing thousands ($14,000–17,000 on a $285,000 sale) on agent commissions. That said, Baird & Warner will likely give you your money's worth and a good overall experience.

Baird & Warner offers all the essential services you need to sell your home, as well as advanced marketing tactics. The average agent at Baird & Warner has more years of experience than the industry median: 13 years versus 8.

Sellers are generally happy with the service they receive, though buyers tend to have slightly worse experiences with B&W agents. Most negative reviews are from landlords, toward its property management services, not its agents.

But don’t hire an agent from Baird & Warner because of its reputation only. Even if it's one of the largest independent brokerages in Chicago, we still recommend sitting down with one of their agents and conducting a thorough interview.

Baird & Warner: Our in-depth breakdown

Reputation and customer experience

Based on public reviews, Baird & Warner’s customer service team seems pretty decent. On Google, the company has nearly 200 reviews with an average of 4.1 out of 5. That’s about what we would expect for a company of this size.

We ran these reviews through a program that identifies emotional language:

Many of the Google complaints came either from buyers with unresponsive or pushy agents or from homeowners unhappy with the company’s rentals services. On its Better Business Bureau profile, Baird & Warner has one complaint (also about property management) and an A– rating.

Don't ignore negative reviews, but interviewing an agent will always be more revealing — especially since people often use third-party review sites to complain rather than shower praise.

Agent quality

Baird & Warner has over 2,400 agents, who average roughly five more years of experience than the industry median of 8. Together, they’ve completed over 20,000 transactions. That comes out to an individual rate lower than the industry average (12), but forgivable given the overall brokerage quantity.

Even with these impressive numbers, we still recommend checking out individual Baird & Warner agents. You can browse agents by office location, designation (such as a Distressed Property Expert), and even by language spoken. Ask how many sales they’ve completed in the last year and if they can provide you with references from past clients.

Brand reach and visibility

Baird & Warner has excellent brand reach and visibility compared with other brokerages. Each local office has at least 50 agents — several have over 100 — giving it excellent coverage in Chicagoland. A dense network like this will work in your favor, as brokerages with strong local roots can connect listings with buyers faster.

Its websites receive over 23,300 visits every month, according to our analytics tool. Additionally, 6,000 people search "baird & warner" and other branded terms on Google monthly.

Service value

On top of basics like assistance with pricing, offers, negotiations, and closing, Baird & Warner offers both buyers and sellers some notable services:

Buyers who work with a Baird & Warner agent can get text notifications via text when a home that matches their criteria is coming soon to the MLS. If you’re out exploring neighborhoods in Chicago, you can also text "BW" to 59559 to receive information on homes near you. But note that individual buyers' agents may be less helpful than the sellers' agents.

For sellers, the number one priority is getting full exposure for their homes. Baird & Warner does that by putting you on a Chicagoland MLS, its own listing web page, numerous real estate websites (like Zillow and Trulia). Your agent will also email thousands of potential buyers before your home is listed publicly to drum up some interest.

You'll also get:

• A professional website specifically for your home
• Professional home staging and photography — in fact, several B&W agents are also Staging Specialists
• Google advertising to retarget people who visit your listing online
• A "For Sale" sign with text message capabilities

If you sign with a Baird & Warner listing agent directly, expect to pay 5–6% in commission, with little room for negotiation. For some guidance, here are the averages for Illinois:

» MORE: Average Commission Rates Across the U.S. 2022

Baird & Warner general contact info

Next steps: Start interviewing agents!

Interview multiple agents (ideally two to three) to ensure you get the best fit and value. Remember: always hire the agent, not the brand. When you’re ready to start searching, check out our guide on how to choose the right real estate agent. Clever’s free agent-matching service makes agent shopping fast and easy, and it can save you money.

Rating methodology

We evaluate brokerages based on four core criteria we think will help readers make informed decisions. We broke those criteria down into discrete metrics so we could make the score as objective as possible. Here’s a quick breakdown of that criteria and methodology:

The post Baird & Warner Real Estate: Is it a Good Choice? appeared first on Semya-Moya.

Overall rating | Customer experience | Agent quality | Brand visibility and reach | Service value | Locations | Methodology

Fulton Grace Realty is a full-service real estate brokerage based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 2008, the company has five main offices staffed with over 350 agents all providing essential services to buyers and sellers in Chicagoland. Despite being a young company, Fulton Grace Realty has grown rapidly to become one of Chicago’s leading real estate brokerages.

Bottom line: Do we recommend Fulton Grace Realty?

Yes, we would recommend interviewing a Fulton Grace agent to see if they’re a good fit for your situation.

As a full-service brokerage, Fulton Grace will put your home on the MLS, as well as on its self-branded listing page, fultongrace.com. This page gets around 30,200 visits per month and can expose your listing to more Chicago buyers.

In addition to an MLS listing, the company also organizes professional photography, helps you land on the right price, and creates a marketing plan tailored for your home. They can also connect you with professionals within their network, such as appraisers, attorneys, and inspectors.

The agents at Fulton Grace can have on average more years of experience, but they get rather mediocre reviews.

It’s a solid company. But the most important thing is to choose an agent, not a brand. Be sure to interview a Fulton Grace agent thoroughly before making your decision.

Fulton Grace Realty: Our in-depth breakdown

Reputation and customer experience

Fulton Grace has a mixed bag of reviews, ranging from former sellers who were pleased with how their agent marketed their home to irate buyers who never got a call back. The brokerage has a 3.8 rating on Google (with 197 reviews) — slightly below average compared with other regional companies.

To dig deeper, we ran these reviews through a program that identifies emotional language:

Many of the reviews (especially the negative ones) were aimed at Fulton Grace’s rental properties and property management services. These reviewers include former renters who had a dispute with the company, and landlords who were dissatisfied with how Fulton Grace handled their rental.

It’s also important to remember that people will use third-party review sites to voice complaints more frequently than praise. That doesn’t mean the complaints are false, but it could mean the complaints are longer and more detailed, simply because the reviewer has more motivation to write.

On its Better Business Bureau profile, Fulton Grace has one complaint and an A+ rating based on four reviews.

Agent quality

The agent team at Fulton Grace Realty appears strong. The average number of years working as a realtor is 16 years — double the industry median. We always recommend interviewing individual agents. Ask how long they’ve been a realtor and what differentiates them from other agents in Chicago.

Brand reach and visibility

Fulton Grace Realty’s brand power is excellent compared with other brokerages in Chicago, like Baird & Warner . Its dense local network and heavy That works well for connecting listings with buyers.

Its market coverage is exceptionally strong, with six offices across the Northside of Chicago, and 350 agents representing over 7,500 active listings in the city limits. There are also about 23,000 active listings spanning Illinois: Bloomington, Champaign, Decatur, Galena, Gurnee, and Naperville.

According to our analytics tool, more than 11,000 people search "fulton grace realty" and other branded terms online each month, while the website gets roughly 30,200 visits. That’s much higher than what we’ve seen for regional brokerages of the same size.

Service value

Like other full-service brokerages, Fulton Grace agents help buyers find listings, get pre-approved for mortgages, tour properties, and negotiate the best price.

Fulton Grace Realty gives sellers the services they need to sell their home. These include:

• MLS listing and syndication across major real estate sites
• Strategic pricing
• Professional photography and home staging
• Marketing materials, including sale signs, brochures, flyers
• Social media and email marketing
• Open house planning and coordination

Agents from Fulton Grace Realty will likely charge fixed commission for their services, in spite of what local competitive rates are. For a point of comparison, here are the averages for Illinois:

The company doesn’t appear to offer sellers virtual tours or aerial photography. While these aren’t essential, they can be nice add-ons — especially if you’re paying full price to work with a Fulton Grace agent.

» MORE: Average Commission Rates Across the U.S.

Additional info about Fulton Grace Realty

General contact info (corporate office)

Fulton Grace Realty local offices and contact information

Other Fulton Grace Realty services

For this review, we focused primarily on Fulton Grace Realty’s real estate agent services. In addition to these, Fulton Grace also operates a large property management business. If you’re interested in property management, we recommend shopping around for the best fit and value before deciding on Fulton Grace.

Next steps: Start interviewing agents!

Interview multiple agents (ideally two to three) to ensure you get the best fit and value. Remember: always hire the agent, not the brand. When you’re ready to start searching, check out our guide on how to choose the right real estate agent. Clever’s free agent-matching service makes agent shopping fast and easy, and it can save you money.

Rating methodology

We evaluate brokerages based on four core criteria we think will help readers make informed decisions. We broke those criteria down into discrete metrics so we could make the score as objective as possible. Here’s a quick breakdown of that criteria and methodology:

The post Fulton Grace Realty Review: Is Worth It? appeared first on Semya-Moya.

Overall rating | Customer experience | Agent quality | Brand visibility and reach | Service value | Locations | Methodology

Headquartered in Chantilly, Virginia, Samson Properties is one of the fastest growing real estate brokerages in the eastern United States. Its 32 offices and 5,000+ agents are located across Maryland and northern Virginia, and it’s licensed in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, DC, and West Virginia.

Bottom line: Do we recommend Samson Properties?

Yes, Samson Properties might be worth considering, but only after you’ve interviewed your local agent and decided for yourself.

The company has a full fleet of experienced agents covering a relatively dense area of Maryland and Virginia: approximately one agent for every square mile. Its agents are backed by an overwhelming amount of positive reviews, with a 4.7 rating on Google.

Unfortunately, Samson Properties doesn’t list its services on its website, so we don’t know what buyers and sellers can expect. That’s why it’s important to interview your local Samson agent first. The most important thing is that your agent and their services are the right fit for you, no matter what the brand is.

Samson Properties: Our in-depth breakdown

Reputation and customer experience

The company has a stellar reputation on third-party review sites. With 518 reviews on Google, it boasts a 4.7 rating — very good for a company that completes over 20,000 transactions per year.

We decided to lift the hood on these reviews and see what emotional themes we could find. After running them through an AI program that identifies emotional language, here’s what we found:

Samson Properties has two complaints and a 1-star review on its Better Business Bureau profile. Since the only review is negative, it brought the company’s total rating to an F. While we don't think the negative reviews are false, it may not be representative of the general customer experience.

Agent quality

The agents at Samson Properties appear to be very experienced, and the brokerage ranks 19th in the U.S. for sales volume, with $9.6 billion in sales in 2021.

Based on 52 agents we have data on, the average Samson agent has 12.8 years of experience (higher than the industry median) and roughly four transactions per agent. As a whole, there are over 5,000 agents on staff and 20,240 transactions completed in one year.

Regardless of how experienced Samson agents are, we still recommend evaluating them on an individual basis. Interview your local Samson agent first before you decide to work with the brokerage. Ask your agent for sales numbers, references from past clients, their commission rate, and the services they provide.

Brand reach and visibility

Samson Properties has a strong brand name that attracts new agents to its workforce. That said, according to our analytics tool, traffic to its main website and listing pages is only slightly above average:

• 1,500 active listings
• 5,800 visitors per month
• 6,500 Google searches per month

While these numbers aren’t terrible, they’re also lower than what we’ve seen on other brokerage websites.

Samson Properties' main strength is its local network, which is more likely to connect you with buyers and listings quickly. Its 32 offices are concentrated in the DC–Maryland–Virginia area — roughly 4,940 square miles. With 5,000+ agents on staff, that means the brokerage has about one agent per square mile.

Service value

Samson Properties doesn’t provide a fully fledged list of services that it offers to buyers and sellers. Since the brokerage relies on recruiting agents from all over the states where it’s licensed, the services provided will likely vary by agent. Both sellers and buyers, then, should ask their local Samson agent up front the services that they provide.

» LEARN: What is a full-service realtor?

A listing agent should provide a professional home valuation (ideally with a CMA), an MLS listing and syndication, high-quality photography and staging, and assistance managing open houses, negotiations, and paperwork.

Likewise, a buyers agent should be able to help you find homes on the MLS that you’re actually interested in, as well as give you tours, connect you with the seller, and stay with you until you close on a home.

Keep in mind if you hire an agent from Samson Properties to help you sell, you might pay full commission, no matter what local competitive rates are. To give you an idea of local rates, here are the state averages for the DC–Maryland-Virginia markets:

» MORE: Average Commission Rates Across the U.S. 2022

Additional info about Samson Properties

General contact info (corporate office)

Next steps: Start interviewing agents!

Interview multiple agents (ideally two to three) to ensure you get the best fit and value. Remember: always hire the agent, not the brand. When you’re ready to start searching, check out our guide on how to choose the right real estate agent. Clever’s free agent-matching service makes agent shopping fast and easy, and it can save you money.

Rating methodology

We evaluate brokerages based on four core criteria we think will help readers make informed decisions. We broke those criteria down into discrete metrics so we could make the score as objective as possible. Here’s a quick breakdown of that criteria and methodology:

The post Is Samson Properties a Good Choice for Real Estate? appeared first on Semya-Moya.