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Ideal Agent Reviews

Editor's note: After losing an antitrust lawsuit in March 2024, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) has shifted how real estate fees are handled nationwide. Starting August 17, 2024, buyer's agent commissions will be negotiated directly by the buyer rather than included in the seller's costs. To learn more, watch our in-house expert Steven Nicastro's recent interview with Yahoo Finance.

Ideal Agent Reviews 2023

What Is Ideal Agent? | How It Works | Fees | Ideal Agent Reviews and Complaints | Alternatives to Ideal Agent | Selling with Ideal Agent | Buying with Ideal Agent | FAQs

What Is Ideal Agent?

Ideal Agent is a discount real estate broker that refers home buyers and sellers to local real estate agents. It also offers modest savings on realtor commissions, with pre-negotiated listing fees of 2% (rather than the standard 3%).

Before committing to Ideal Agent, shop around and compare your options. For example, Clever Real Estate offers a similar agent matching service, but with 1.5% listing fees instead of 2%. Clever’s agent network includes the best agents from Keller Williams, RE/MAX, Coldwell Banker, and other national brokerages.

There’s no risk or downside to receiving agent matches from both Ideal Agent and Clever — and you should always speak with multiple agents before deciding who’s best for you.

👋 Connect with Clever to meet hand-picked agents in your area!

Our Takeaways from Ideal Agent Reviews

Ideal Agent reviews are largely positive across reliable sites like Trustpilot, Google, and the Better Business Bureau.

Customers’ positive reviews often focus on how professional and responsive their agent was and how quickly the agent sold their home. Additionally, many customers liked the efficient agent matching service.

However, some Ideal Agent reviews are negative. Some reviewers expressed dissatisfaction with their agents, who didn’t help with as many tasks as the customers anticipated. Other complaints focus on concerns about limited buyer savings and higher commission fees than expected.

Additionally, some customers expressed frustration with communication from Ideal Agent, like receiving unprofessional responses from the official account.

While many customers report a good experience with Ideal Agent, you may want to compare this company with another agent matching service, like Clever Real Estate, to ensure you’re getting the best combination of savings and agent expertise.

How Ideal Agent Works

Ideal Agent is a referral service that promises to reduce the stress of finding a real estate agent.

Founded in 2016, Ideal Agent initially focused on matching home sellers with agents. Now, Ideal Agent helps both home buyers and sellers find qualified real estate agents. They also offer a cash buyer service for sellers who have tight timelines or simply don’t want to list on the open market.

With Ideal Agent, you’ll get:

  • Introductions to local real estate agents
  • Pre-negotiated savings on realtor commission
  • Marketing support, including an MLS listing
  • Document and disclosure preparation for your house sale

However, it’s important to know that Ideal Agent’s recommendations aren’t highly personalized. The company typically searches for agents in your area, and depending on where you are, Ideal Agent may recommend only one local agent.

How Much Are Ideal Agent Fees?

If you’re selling a home with Ideal Agent, you’ll pay a pre-negotiated listing fee of 2%, rather than the traditional rate of around 3% of your home’s sale price.

However, Ideal Agent’s advertising around fees could be clearer. The company sometimes promises that your total realtor commission could be around 2%. This is technically true if you don’t pay a buyer’s agent commission, but it’s very unlikely.

When home sellers pay realtor commission, they’re responsible for both the listing agent’s commission and the buyer’s agent commission (typically 3%).

Fee Total Cost
Listing fees 2% with Ideal Agent
Buyer’s agent commission 3%
Total 5%
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Experts recommend that home sellers always offer a buyer’s agent commission. Think of this commission as an incentive for buyer’s agents to show your home to their clients — after all, why would a buyer’s agent show a client your home if they won’t get paid?

While Ideal Agent does offer some savings, other companies can put more money back in your pocket. If you find an agent through Clever Real Estate, you’ll pay just 1.5% in listing fees. The average home seller saves $7,000 by finding a real estate agent through Clever.

💰 Get a great agent, save thousands 💰

Clever’s top-rated local agent network offers bigger savings when you sell your home. Compare as many agents as you’d like, with no strings attached — and get a low 1.5% listing fee when you sell your home.

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How Does Ideal Agent Make Money?

Ideal Agent’s matching service is free for home sellers and buyers. Like other agent matching services, Ideal Agent makes money by charging a referral fee from the real estate agents in its network.

Essentially, partner agents give the company a percentage of their commission for connecting them with clients.

Ideal Agent has also partnered with Incenter to offer additional real estate services. As a result, Ideal Agent also earns money through title, mortgage, warranty, and property insurance services.

Is Ideal Agent Available Near Me?

For many home buyers and sellers, Ideal Agent’s small network of just 2,000 agents makes it difficult to find the most qualified agent.

If you live in a less-populated area, or even just outside a city, your matches from Ideal Agent may not be local. This could mean they aren’t experts in your exact market.

Any specifics on availability are tough to verify — Ideal Agent’s site doesn’t have a map of where agents are located.

🔎 Our Experience with Ideal Agent’s Customer Service
In May 2022, we mystery shopped Ideal Agent to test its customer service. We spoke with a rep who confirmed the company has agents in all 50 states. However, he wouldn’t say how many agents were available near the postal code we gave, which was in a rural area.
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Ideal Agent Reviews and Complaints

Most customers are satisfied with Ideal Agent’s concierge service and commission rates. Ideal Agent has hundreds of high ratings and strong reviews.

Review Site 🔗 Rating ⭐
Trustpilot (5,300+ reviews) 4.9/5 stars
Google (460+ reviews) 4.8/5 stars
Better Business Bureau (255+ reviews) 5/5 stars
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Customers who found their agent through Ideal Agent praise the thoughtful service and seamless experience they received.

Second home sold through IDEAL AGENT
Richard F., ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is the second home I have sold through an Ideal agent — Kevin B.. I was actually in North Carolina when the home went on the market, and I received several offers while out of town. Kevin communicated often with me and explained each offer along with the pros and cons of each. The house was sold within 3 days (closing was a few weeks away.) The total agent commissions paid were 4.5%. Can’t beat it. I highly recommend Ideal Agent!

Source: Trustpilot

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Ideal Agent is the future of real estate selling
B.K., ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ideal Agent is the future of real estate selling. They provided the best people in the area to help sell our house and why shouldn’t they as they are building a fine reputation.
Our process went smoothly as the team they introduced us to was fabulous. Home sold quickly and all aspects of completion from handy man work to passing inspection was handled by them. This is especially important as we had moved from NJ to FL permanently. It was too easy to believe but true. Go with the best. They’ve got their act together and you’ll benefit. Glad we chose Ideal Agent.

Source: Trustpilot

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The process was simple
Daniel K., ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The process was simple, quick, and effective. Even considering that it was a hot real estate market, the paperwork was provided very fast, it worked flawlessly, and everything the real estate agent was responsible was done as quickly as was possible. This was the 4th house I have bought in my lifetime, and I also sold my 3rd house through Ideal Agent, and this was by far the best home selling and buying experience I have ever been through. If I was ever to again engage in a real estate transaction, I would use Ideal Agent.

Source: Trustpilot

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While many Ideal Agent reviewers praise their real estate agent’s expertise and professionalism, there are several unhappy reviews — from both customers and realtors.

The most common Ideal Agent complaints include concerns about limited buyer savings, higher commissions than expected, and dissatisfying agent matches.

My agent was sub par
Debbie R.,

My agent was sub par. I was the seller and he expected me to work for him. I was expected to call the title company and sit at my computer and constantly watch my emails. It was too difficult for them to call me. I told him I would be on an international vacation and to make sure everything was taken care of prior. they did not do that and again expected me to drop everything to make up for their inabilities.

Source: Trustpilot

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Bad service
Joe K., ⭐⭐

Do not believe their slick ads on TV. If they give you a unmotivated, disinterested or I-don’t-care agent, you will go through the process on your own. I was assigned an agent, who overpromised and greatly underperformed. I was selling my mother’s home and the agent believed that her work was finished when the buyer signed a contract. And she told this to me in a heated phone conversation that I had with her at the end of the process. Just about everything that I asked her, she would come back at me with the words ” I am not a lawyer “. Early on, I realized that if the sale was to be completed, I would have to get it done. I basically figured things out along the way. Definitely, this was a bad experience to say the least.

Source: Trustpilot

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Strangely, some commenters received inappropriate, unprofessional responses from Ideal Agent’s official account, including insults like “you’re what’s wrong with this industry.”

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Overall, the positive reviews far outweigh the complaints.

How Good Are Ideal Agent Realtors?

Ideal Agent’s realtors are vetted, experienced agents. Agents can’t buy a membership or pay to join. They have to meet Ideal Agent’s criteria before receiving client referrals. This criteria includes being in the top 1% for sales in the area.

However, sales records don’t tell the whole story. It’s important to find an agent whose judgment you trust and whose personality you click with — two factors that will provide peace of mind during the stressful process of buying or selling a home.

Although Ideal Agent reviews are generally positive, the company has so few agents in its network that there’s a good chance you won’t have many options near you. You might get a good agent — but they might come from a neighboring town or lack experience for your specific needs. This is more likely for home buyers and sellers in rural areas.

By comparison, Clever Real Estate has a much larger network, with more than 14,000 agents and a dedicated sourcing team that continuously recruits agents. If you receive only one agent match from Ideal Agent, it’s worthwhile to see if Clever can help you shop around for more options.

The Best Alternatives to Ideal Agent

Best Option: Ideal Agent vs. Clever Real Estate

If you’re looking for the best real estate agents near you, Clever Real Estate is our top choice.

With a 4.9 star rating on Trustpilot based on 2,000+ reviews, Clever is a popular choice among home buyers and sellers.

Both Clever and Ideal Agent will match you with full-service agents from top-rated brokerages. But there are some critical factors that make Clever a better option.

Compared to Ideal Agent, Clever can offer:

  • More than 7x as many in-network licensed real estate agents (14,000+ vs. 2,000)
  • An in-house sourcing team that can find additional real estate agents tailored to your exact needs
  • Lower listing fees of just 1.5% (compared to Ideal Agent’s 2%)
  • Cash back after closing to buyers in eligible states

Clever is a free service, with no obligation, so there’s no downside to connecting with its licensed concierge team. Find the best agents in your area today!

Ideal Agent vs. UpNest

UpNest is a service that allows agents to compete for your business directly — rather than Ideal Agent’s model of providing one agent or a shortlist to choose from.

With UpNest, after you enter your contact information, several agents send you proposals, including services and rates. UpNest’s site lists an average total commission of 5.2%, which doesn’t offer much savings over the traditional 5–6%.

Ideal Agent vs. HomeLight

HomeLight provides you with a list of agents immediately at sign up. You’ll interview and negotiate with the agents directly, unlike with Ideal Agent, which pre-negotiates commission and matches you with one or more agents.

Because HomeLight works with so many agents, its selection process is less stringent. And its commission structure isn’t fixed like Ideal Agent’s, so you’re unlikely to save on fees.

Selling with Ideal Agent

Realtors in Ideal Agent’s network provide the same full-service support you’d receive if you found an agent on your own.

Your agent will guide you through each step of your home selling process:

  • Preparing a competitive market analysis (CMA)
  • Recommending a listing price
  • Taking professional photos of the home (although floor plans and 3D or aerial photography carry extra charges)
  • Listing your property on the MLS
  • Negotiating offers from buyers
  • Preparing documents and going with you to closing

With Ideal Agent, you won’t have to find an agent on your own, and you could pay a slightly lower listing fee.

Here’s what the process looks like selling with Ideal Agent:

Step 1: Fill Out an Online Form

Get started by filling out Ideal Agent’s online questionnaire. You’ll need to provide basic information, including your contact details, a description of your property, the asking price you expect, and why you’re selling.

Step 2: Connect with Agents

After you fill out Ideal Agent’s online form, the company’s concierge team will work on finding you a listing agent.

When you submit your information, the site says, “We will get in touch with you shortly.” You might receive a response in a few hours, or it could take a day or two for the selected agent to contact you.

It’s true that Ideal Agent will recommend an agent near you — but in reality, the company matches you with whoever they have in their small network of 2,000 agents nationwide. There’s usually only one agent available in each market, and you might even be matched with an agent from the next town over, rather than an agent who knows your specific market.

In contrast, Clever has built an agent network of more than 14,000 agents nationwide. If there aren’t enough agents in your area, or if you need an agent with specialized expertise, Clever’s in-house sourcing team will personally reach out to additional agents to help you find a great match. Find top-rated agents near you today!

Step 3: Interview Ideal Agent Matches

After processing your information, Ideal Agent will refer you to a real estate agent from its network. There’s no fee for this service, so you’ll pay only if you end up signing with an agent.

According to its guidelines, Ideal Agent promises that your real estate agent will be one of the top performers in your local area and maintain high professional standards.

However, high sales numbers don’t guarantee you’ll like the agent or have confidence in your compatibility.

🔎 Our Experience with Ideal Agent’s Customer Service
When we mystery shopped Ideal Agent, we requested a second agent match. The company wouldn’t commit to providing one and instead insisted that we speak with the first match. The Ideal Agent representative claimed that its small, 2,000-agent network was an intentional measure to maintain quality standards.

Keep in mind: There are more than three million real estate agents with active licenses in the U.S. — so it’s very unlikely that agent quality is the only factor behind Ideal Agent’s small pool of agents.

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Step 4: Sign a Listing Agreement

The final step in selling your house with Ideal Agent is signing an exclusive seller’s agreement. From there, you’ll work directly with your real estate agent to list and market your home to buyers.

Your agent will provide standard services, such as providing recommendations for how to prepare and stage your home, taking professional photographs, and arranging showings with potential buyers.

Buying with Ideal Agent

Ideal Agent was originally designed to help home sellers, but the company now helps home buyers find agents as well. The process is similar to the steps sellers take — you’ll fill out an online form and get matched with agents near you.

However, the only benefit of using Ideal Agent as a buyer is the convenience of getting matched with agents. It doesn’t offer any savings for buyers.

Clever Real Estate, on the other hand, matches buyers with great agents and provides cash back for eligible purchases. Connect with Clever’s licensed concierge team to find the best buyer’s agents near you!

Bottom Line: Is Ideal Agent Worth It?

Ideal Agent is a legitimate company that matches home buyers and sellers with qualified real estate agents. But its small agent network and modest savings mean it isn’t the most competitive agent matching service on the market.

Before committing to an Ideal Agent match, we recommend reaching out to Clever Real Estate, which has a much larger agent network and offers more savings. You can always shop around by comparing your Ideal Agent and Clever matches until you find a great fit.

👋 Need a great agent?

If you're weighing your options for buying or selling a house, Clever can help! With our friends at Clever:  ✅ You'll only pay 1.5% to list your home ✅ In eligible states, you'll get cash back when you buy a home ✅ You'll work with a full-service realtor from a top broker, like RE/MAX or Keller Williams Saving on realtor fees doesn't have to mean sacrificing service. Find a top local agent today!

Ideal Agent FAQs

Is Ideal Agent legitimate?

Ideal Agent is a legitimate agent matching service that connects home buyers and sellers with qualified real estate agents. However, its small network means that you may get only one match, making it difficult to shop around for the best agent in your area. Learn how Ideal Agent works and the best alternatives.

How does Ideal Agent work?

Ideal Agent’s process is simple: You’ll submit your information online, receive an introduction to an agent near you, and then decide whether to sign a contract for representation. From there, the sale proceeds the same way a traditional transaction would. However, it’s important to note that Ideal Agent’s agent pool is limited and you could save more by going with a different agent matching company. Learn how to meet the best agents and save the most money on commission.

What are some common Ideal Agent complaints?

The most common Ideal Agent complaints from online reviewers include concerns about limited buyer savings, higher commissions than expected, and poor experiences with agents. Read more Ideal Agent reviews and complaints from real customers.

How good are Ideal Agent realtors?

Ideal Agent’s realtors are vetted, experienced agents. Agents can’t buy a membership or pay to join. They have to meet Ideal Agent’s criteria before receiving client referrals, which includes being in the top 1% for sales in their area.

However, sales records don’t tell the whole story. It’s important to find an agent whose judgment you trust and whose personality you click with — two factors that will provide peace of mind during the stressful process of buying or selling a home.

Although Ideal Agent reviews are generally positive, the company has so few agents in its network that there’s a good chance you won’t have many options near you. You might get a good agent — but they might come from a neighboring town or lack experience for your specific needs. This is more likely for home buyers and sellers in rural areas.

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