What One Year of Flat-Fee Real Estate Taught Us About Buyers

October marks TurboHome’s first anniversary, and with it, we celebrate the hundreds of buyers who have trusted us to navigate one of life’s biggest financial decisions. Over the past year, we’ve learned a lot about what modern buyers really want in today’s housing market. 

The takeaway is clear: buyers are willing to challenge old industry norms in order to secure their dream home, and their priorities over the past year have become clear in the themes below.

1. Homebuyers Want Responsive Realtors for a Reasonable Price

• Responsive Realtors: Many agents don’t respond to buyers. In a recent study, “47% of [homebuyer] inquiries didn’t even receive a response; 8 hours and 17 minutes was the average response time”. At TurboHome, we’ve learned that this is unacceptable. Our homebuyers want fast, professional service. And we pick up the phone. 
• Reasonable Price: Homebuyers are getting savvy - and they know that 3% of the cash they pay for a house is getting routed back to their buyer’s agent. At TurboHome, we believe that buyer’s agents deserve fair and reasonable compensation. That’s why we charge a low flat fee - and credit homebuyers back the rest of the commission (on avg. $35,000).

2. There’s no shortcut or technology that will replace amazing experienced agents

“At TurboHome, you're connected with a live realtor who's very knowledgeable of all things real estate related.”

• Jackie T., California

There are some real estate companies that want to remove the Realtor from the equation. At TurboHome, we would never do that. We are Realtors - and we believe Realtors are essential to every transaction. We always match homebuyers with an experienced local real estate agent so homebuyers can leverage that agent’s expertise and negotiating skills to win their dream home.

3. Using a traditional Realtor who requests 3% buyer’s agent commission from the seller puts you at a disadvantage.

Offers where a homebuyer requests a 3% buyer's agent commission from the seller are viewed much less attractive than cleaner offers without a buyer’s agent commission request. At TurboHome, we help our buyers win more than 50% of the time in competitive scenarios because we understand this important trick. 

The traditional 3% buyer’s agent commission structure means that a portion of the seller's proceeds, intended for their own benefit, is instead allocated to the buyer's agent. Consequently, sellers may be less inclined to negotiate on price or to offer other concessions, as they are already factoring in this substantial cost. For buyers, this traditional model can limit their negotiating power and potentially make them less attractive to sellers who might prefer offers with lower overall commission payouts. In an environment where every dollar counts, both for the seller's bottom line and the buyer's ability to secure a home, understanding the impact of this commission structure is crucial.

One TurboHome client in Los Altos purchased a $6.4M home and saved over six figures in commission by using our flat-fee model - our client requested $0 in commission from the seller.  Those savings gave them the edge in a competitive bidding war, since our client’s offer not only cost less for them but also netted the seller more. The flat fee approach delivers both financial savings and a cleaner, more compelling offer.

Looking Ahead

One year of TurboHome has confirmed what we believed from the start: today’s buyers want clarity, control, and cost savings without losing expert guidance. 

The future of real estate is transparent, flat-fee, and and we’re proud to be leading that shift.

👉 Ready to experience the new way to buy a home? Connect with our team today at TurboHome.com.

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