As real estate agents adjust to sweeping changes brought by the commission lawsuit settlement, a new report from discount brokerage Clever Real Estate reveals one thing hasn’t shifted: Americans still overwhelmingly trust full-service agents to sell their homes.
Nearly three-quarters (73%) of recent home sellers say agents are the best way to sell, with 77% opting for traditional full-service agents—outpacing all other methods, including FSBO and iBuyers, by a wide margin.
Clever’s finding was aggregated by a survey of 1,000 Americans who have sold a home in the past five years. Of the 73% who said they preferred using agents, 67% believe traditional real estate agents are still the best option and 6% favor discount agents.
Of the surveyed pool, 42% have sold since late 2022 as rising mortgage rates cooled the post-pandemic market. The majority of recent home sellers overwhelmingly prefer traditional full-service real estate agents, with 77% choosing this method for their sale — nearly eight times more than those who opted for a ‘For Sale By Owner’ (FSBO) transaction (10%).
Not only is this method popular, but it’s also well-regarded; 76% of sellers who worked with an agent felt their services were worth the cost. That’s despite a recent research report from the Atlanta Fed that found the vast majority of real estate agents achieve similar price outcomes. Although there are agents who consistently outperform on price relative to others, they are very rare, Atlanta Fed researchers found.
The Clever survey comes out as agents and brokerages adjust to seismic changes in real estate, namely the National Association of Realtors (NAR) commission lawsuit and related business practice changes, as well as several down years for existing home sales.
In August, directly after the NAR settlement went into effect in most markets, Redfin reported that the typical U.S. home seller paid a 2.55% commission to the real estate agent hired by their buyer, down from an average of 2.62% in January. At the end of October, the narrative changed; Redfin reported that commissions paid to real estate agents representing buyers remained essentially unchanged. Some agents and brokers told HousingWire that their buy-side commission splits have increased since the announcement of the settlement.
The changes haven’t materially had an impact so far on NAR membership or projections of 2025 membership. NAR Treasurer Greg Hrabcak assured members during the NAR NXT conference that the organization remains on solid footing, with no planned dues increases and a maintained reserve level.
Hrabcak credited budget reductions across NAR for minimal impact on services and a “disciplined approach” to fulfilling settlement obligations. Membership numbers also remain strong, with 1.526 million reported in October — the fourth-highest ever — and a forecasted 1.4 million members in 2025, at 8% smaller decline than many had expected.
Corporate cash buyer, iBuyer Distrust
Only 3% hired discount agents, 5% sold to cash buyer companies, and just 2% used iBuyers like Opendoor or Offerpad.
Recent sellers have a much less favorable view of cash buyer companies, with 38% considering them the worst way to sell. About 35% of those who sold to cash buyers and 33% of iBuyer users would choose a different method if they could do it over. Almost two-thirds of respondents (61%) go as far as calling cash buyer companies “scams.”
Some sellers (65%) touted that their cash buyer experience led to them closing within a month and 31% sold without listing their home.
Cash buyer companies appeal to sellers with property issues, the report pointed out, as 54% avoid expenses like repairs or staging. While 74% would consider this option, motivations differ: 36% prioritize the highest offer, 8% value speed, and 27% see it as a last resort.
Nearly 1 in 4 sellers (24%) view the polarizing FSBO method as the worst way to sell a home. While 46% believe FSBO is the most profitable and 51% see it as the least expensive option, it comes with significant challenges. Two-thirds (66%) say it’s the hardest method, and 55% call it the slowest.
“[RealTrends] found [in polling] that well over a third of all sellers considered using for sale by owner before they went with an agent,” Steve Murray, the founder of RealTrends and a HousingWire consultant, said in September. “Why would they do this? It turns out that people perceive that using an agent to deal with the complexity and possibility of making a stupid mistake is better than if they did it themselves.”
Per the Clever survey, traditional real estate agents are considered the easiest (58%) and often the fastest (40%) way to sell, despite being seen as the most expensive by 69% of sellers.
Despite their popularity, real estate agents face some criticism: 36% of sellers feel pressured to accept lowball offers, 12% report agent mistakes during the sale, and 13% found their real estate agent more of a hassle than a help.
While traditional and discount agents offer similar services, the difference between them matters significantly to sellers. About 76% would consider a traditional real estate agent for their next sale, compared to just 25% for a discount agent.
However, 60% of sellers are open to trading some traditional real estate agent services for cost savings. Many are willing to forgo hosting open houses (26%), pricing strategy and market analysis (13%), or negotiation support (11%). Still, concerns about marketing support linger, with 71% believing discount brokers provide less than traditional agents, though this varies by individual agent.
Despite these perceptions, most sellers who’ve used both would recommend them: 83% for traditional agents and 56% for discount brokers.
