ListWise

05/01/2025

This past week, we analyzed the outcomes from the early adopters who we worked with to find agents and sell their homes. The results are encouraging and highlight the value of a smarter approach to selling:

There isn't one price for a home: The highest agent valuation for a home was, on average, 103.5% of the median agent valuation. Home value is subjective—agents and buyers see things differently. We typically see a 7–10% spread for the expected sale price across a group of agents for any given home. Meeting with multiple agents isn’t just smart—it gives homeowners a clearer understanding of their home’s true price potential.

Accuracy Over Hype: The average sale price was 100.6% of the highest agent bid, meaning top-performing agents are backing up their estimates—not just overpromising to win the listing.

Maximizing Sale Price: When comparing final sale prices to the median agent’s price expectations, homeowners sold for 104% of what the "typical" agent thought was possible—4% more value unlocked through better agent selection.

Lower Commissions: The average listing agent commission was 2.19%, with buyers’ agents at 2.24%, for a combined 4.43% total commission—roughly 0.75% lower than the national average. This includes homes priced from $400K to over $4M.

The bottom line:
Putting agents in competition and using an incentive commission to accurately assess their expectations is helping homeowners sell for more while paying less in commission—a rare win-win in real estate.

05/15/2024

There is a saying, "If you're not paying for the product, you are the product." Most of us know this at some level, and we are generally okay with it. The cost of free email is letting Google or others serve us more targeted ads. It seems like a reasonable tradeoff. However, it's also good to know the costs because sometimes they might be larger than you think.

For example, when you go to Zillow and use their "Agent Finder" tool, what is the cost of that? Zillow charges a referral fee of 40% to their partner agents. So that agent that showed up near the top of the search results on Zillow and had a "Top Agent on Zillow" badge, what did that cost you? Well, if you paid them a 2.5% commission on a $1 mm house, Zillow takes 40% or $10k.

This may make you frustrated. Could you have saved $10,000 if you contacted the agent directly? Would a top agent need to pay 40% for new business? All reasonable questions, but take some consolation in knowing that you are a super valuable product!

Now that you know you are so valuable, use that to your advantage.

04/05/2024

You’ve probably seen a recent article talking about how selling your home is about to get a lot less expensive because the NAR lost a multi-billion-dollar lawsuit, and in settling the lawsuit they agreed that home sellers will no longer be required, or even able, to specify broker compensation on the MLS. While that sounds like a big deal, the idea that home sellers are going to have big savings after the new rules take effect in July is far from certain.

If you want to learn how you can use the upcoming rule changes to your advantage, read more at

You've probably seen a recent article talking about how selling your home is about to get a lot less expensive because the NAR lost a multi-billion-dollar lawsuit, and in settling the lawsuit they agreed that home sellers will no longer be required, or even able, to specify broker compensation on th...

12/20/2023

Its exciting that James Rodriguez and the folks over at Business Insider spoke about ListWise in their recent piece about the future of homebuying. They see a future of lower fees and better incentive alignment between homeowners and agents. Its worth a read.

A wave of multibillion-dollar lawsuits will trigger a huge real-estate experiment next year. Say goodbye to the old way of buying and selling homes.

12/18/2023

Excited that we were able to speak with Anna Bahney at CNN about how homeowners can save on realtor commissions.

Real estate agent’s fees are always negotiable. But it doesn’t always feel that way to the homeseller, who typically pays the commission.

10/30/2023

In the real estate world, we have "first-time homebuyers," but what about those who are taking the exciting step of selling their home for the very first time?

Yes, buying a home is incredibly important and a huge deal. Not only is it a big committment, its also been an amazing source of wealth creation for millions. However, there is also the idea that if you haven't bought a home before that you won't quite know how to do it. But most people think if they have bought a home they know how to sell a home.

The fact is, very few people get the best results that they could have when they sell their home. There needs to be more education about the importance of home selling and how homeowners can do it better.

10/14/2023

You'll have better results when selling your home if you remember that the value of your home is not just a single point estimate but a distribution.

For example, it’s true that a home is only worth what someone will pay for it, but each potential buyer will have a different amount that they would ultimately pay for your house. All these buyers create the distribution for what a home is worth. The issue is that all those buyers don't show up at the same time, they show up over a period of weeks or months. If you turn down one offer, there is no guarantee you'll get a better one, but you can make a more informed decision of how to respond to each offer if you have a sense of where that offer lies in the distribution of what your home could be worth.

This is where a good agent can add value, in helping you understand this range of values. The issue is, you need an agent that both sees the most value in your home and whose advice you can trust. The ListWise process is built to help a homeowner find that agent and then to create that trust through incentive alignment, increasing the probability of an above average outcome for the home seller.

10/03/2023

Nic Johnson began his career designing rockets for Mars while at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and then switched to managing billions of dollars for Pimco, including running the largest commodity fund in the world.

09/23/2023

A Real-Life Case Study of a Home Seller Who Made an Estimated $150,000 Using ListWise

John wanted to sell his home in Laguna Niguel. He’d owned it almost 30 years and was looking to downsize and free up the accumulated equity in his home, which was a significant portion of his retirement savings. His first call was to one of the top producing agents in the area who had a great reputation and who had recently sold a similar home in the neighborhood. That agent told John that he loved his home, thought it was unique, and that he could expect to get about $1.7 million for his house, which would be in line with the highest price per square foot seen in his neighborhood. While that all sounded great, it’s generally wise to get more than one opinion before undertaking one of the largest financial transactions of your life, and that’s why John contacted ListWise.

When John contacted ListWise we answered his questions and explained the process, and then we set up appointments for him to meet some additional agents. One of those agents thought he could sell John’s house for close to $1.9 mm. Experienced home sellers might get wary at this point, thinking that the agent just told John a fanciful story to get the listing. However, our incentive commission structure limits the ability to engage in such practices. With ListWise, an agent’s commission is 0.75% of the sale price plus 20% over the incentive price, so it’s quite easy to infer an agent’s real expectations for the sale price by looking at where they put their incentive price. For example, for an agent to earn 2% on a given listing, they’ll need to achieve a sale price 6% over the incentive price they set. In the case of the agent who told John he thought he could get close to $1.9 mm for his home, he set his incentive price above $1.7 mm, above the first agent’s sale price.
John hired the agent with the highest estimated sale price and felt confident in that because the agent had put such a strong incentive price. In addition to the cost savings of choosing an agent with a higher incentive price, John also found the incentive commission structure increased his trust with his agent. In the end, the agent John hired sold his home for $1.85 million, a full $150k more than the first agent that John spoke with. John was thrilled.

While it’s a fantastic result, it’s not altogether uncommon for the homeowners we have worked with in Orange County. It’s the result of a well-designed process. It’s about working with great agents who are good at what they do and willing to align their incentives with the clients, finding the agent that sees the value in a given home and works well with the homeowner, and then making sure that the agent that is hired has the right financial incentives.

Reach out to us to learn more with no cost or obligation. We’ll gladly answer your questions about the home selling process and when you’re ready we will guide you through the process of finding the best agent for you and hiring them with an incentive commission structure, so you get the best results when selling your home.

*Names and identifying details have been changed for privacy.

09/15/2023

We are looking to disrupt the status quo so that homeowners get the most value possible when selling their home. The initial results have been astounding, with our early adopters often setting new neighborhood records and surpassing their expected sale prices. From our early transactions, there are five key takeaways that can help all homeowners. Read more at:
https://listwise.com/blog/five-valuable-home-selling-lessons?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=blogpost

09/08/2023

One question that often comes up when discussing real estate commissions is, "Can the established norm of paying 5 or 6% in commissions really change?" Everyone complains about it, but now you can do something about it. Learn more about your options when selling your home and how others are maximizing their profits, finding the right agents, and saving on commission in our latest blog:

https://listwise.com/blog/homeowners-have-more-power-than-you-think?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=blogpost

One question that often comes up when discussing real estate commissions is, "Can the established norm of paying 5 or 6% in commissions really change?" Our unequivocal response at Listwise is "Yes." Homeowners have the ability to set the terms of the agreement, and they have a stronger negotiating p...