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Written by Franklin Schneider
Editor's note: In March 2024, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) lost an antitrust lawsuit, leading to changes in real estate fees nationwide. As of August 17, 2024, buyer's agent commissions are no longer covered by the seller and must be negotiated separately. For more details, check out our in-house expert Steven Nicastro's recent Yahoo Finance interview.
Main takeaway: Trelora Real Estate is a regional discount brokerage that offers a 1% listing fee ($3,000 minimum), and a buyer rebate of 50% of the buyer’s agent commission.
Trelora Real Estate can offer this level of savings because they use a high volume team-based agent model; instead of sellers working with a single dedicated agent throughout their home sale, Trelora clients work with a large team in an “assembly line” fashion. While this model offers increased efficiency and one of the lowest real estate commissions of any major brokerage, some Trelora reviews have complained about a lack of responsiveness and communication.
Listing Fee
Our take
Company details
Locations
Trelora Real Estate offers a competitive listing fee of 1% and a very enticing buyer rebate of half the buyer’s commission. Still, there are legitimate concerns about the lack of personalized service.
Sellers who have a desirable property in a hot market and don’t need a lot of support from their agent will most likely benefit from Trelora’s pricing model. On the other hand, sellers who have a unique property or are in a cooler market, or need a lot of one-on-one time with their agent, may not be well-served by Trelora’s team-based model.
Pros
- Low listing fee
- Generous buyer rebate
- Fast sale process
Cons
- Lack of personalized service
- Spotty communication
- Attention to detail can be questionable
- Full-service discount brokerage
- Online signup
- 1% listing fee ($3,000 minimum flat fee), 50% of buyer’s commission rebated to buyer at closing
- Trelora sellers should still offer full buyer’s agent commission of 2.5%-3%
- 4.8/5 (648 total reviews)
- Not BBB accredited
- Full seller services
- Buyer rebate of 50% of commission
Trelora is available in Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington.
Trelora uses an assembly line-style agent model where sellers work with different agents or personnel at each sale stage, from pricing to marketing to negotiating to closing. While this is more efficient than the traditional one-on-one dedicated agent setup, some Trelora reviews have noted that the reviewers fell through the cracks and felt abandoned by their Trelora team.
However, for sellers who don’t need much personalized attention, Trelora offers real savings through its 1% listing fee. Trelora also offers one of the most generous buyer rebates in the industry, at 50% of the buyer’s agent commission.
Savings | Services | Customer reviews | Trelora vs. the competition | How Trelora works | News | Bottom line
How much can I save with Trelora real estate agents?
| Trelora’s listing fee | 1% |
| Nationwide average listing fee | 2.83% of home sale price |
| Amount saved with Trelora | 1.83% |
Trelora’s 1% ($3,000 minimum flat fee) listing fee offers significant savings, especially to sellers of higher-priced real estate. Let’s look at some examples.
For a $200,000 home, a Trelora seller would pay the minimum flat fee of $3,000; selling that home through a traditional real estate agent charging the national average commission of 2.83% would cost $5,660, which translates to a savings of $2,660.
For a $400,000 home, a Trelora seller would pay a 1% commission of $4,000; selling that home through a traditional agent charging the national average of 2.83% would cost $11,320, which translates to a maximum savings of $7,320.
For a $750,000 home, a Trelora seller would pay a 1% commission of $7,500; selling that home through a traditional agent charging the national average of 2.83% would cost $21,225, which translates to a very significant maximum savings of $13,725.
Trelora’s overall savings compare well to those of other discount brokerages, many of which have either higher minimums or higher percentage-based listing fees. Trelora’s 50% home buyer rebate is also quite good compared to its competitors. However, this doesn’t take into account Trelora’s service quality.
We combed through Trelora reviews and found many instances of happy home sellers who saved a lot of money by working with a Trelora agent.
With [Trelora agent]’s help we were able to sell the property at our asking price to solid cash buyers with a low commission impact on our finances.
– Masood A., Google, April 2024
I paid 2.8 percent to the buyers agent to assure the house would be shown and only a flat fee of $2,500.00 to Trelora. This saved me over $14,000.00 and I felt that I received much better service than if I gone through one of the big real estate agencies.
– Janice L., Google, 2018
💰 Want to pay less in realtor fees? Use our free agent finding tool to connect with local realtors who charge a 1.5% listing fee (half the usual rate). Fill out a short form, and compare agent matches from your inbox.
Service breakdown
Trelora offers sellers a full-service real estate agent experience that includes pricing help, professional photography, an MLS listing, help with marketing and showings, advice on home appraisals and home inspections, price negotiation, and in-person help at closing.
The only catch with Trelora’s customer service model is that home sellers work with a team of agents and personnel rather than a single real estate agent. Home sellers using Trelora might work with different Trelora agents at pricing, showings, negotiating tables, and closing. This enables Trelora to handle a very high volume of sellers, though it could result in a lack of personalized, one-on-one help from your real estate agent.
According to a survey of Trelora reviews, its team-based agent model works fine for many or even most home sellers.
Faith and the entire CO team were very helpful during our house selling process. They were prompt in response, and very knowledgeable! Always willing to help answer any questions, and had great listing advice.
– Jocelyn P., Google, May 2024
For buyers, Trelora’s value proposition is pretty clear; buy a home through a Trelora buyer’s agent, and they’ll refund half of the buyer’s agent commission to you.
However, Trelora buyers will also work with a team of Trelora real estate agents throughout the process, with a “showing agent” taking them to open houses and a “buyer’s agent” helping them formulate an offer.
Trelora reviews: What customers are saying
According to Trelora reviews, most customers were generally positive about their Trelora real estate experience, especially regarding the value proposition of paying less in real estate fees and receiving a less personalized experience.
However, clients’ experiences with the Trelora home selling process varied; those who preferred a lot of one-on-one attention from a traditional real estate agent tended to come away with a more negative impression of Trelora, while those who had a fast, frictionless sale tended to have a rosier impression.
| Review site | Rating |
|---|---|
| Google* | 4.7/5.0 (654 reviews) |
| Yelp | 4.4/5.0 (131 reviews) |
| Zillow | 4.9/5.0 (517 reviews) |
| Weighted avg. | 4.8/5 (648 total reviews) |
| *Aggregate rating across Trelora’s franchise locations |
Satisfied customers who worked with Trelora were generally positive regarding the amount of money they saved, the fast home selling process, and praised the company’s use of technology, according to positive Trelora reviews.
Here are the common themes we found in Trelora’s positive and negative reviews:
Pros
- Savings
- Responsiveness
- Fast sale
Cons
- Poor communication
- Unresponsive buyer’s agents
- Inaccurate listings
✅ Savings
Many positive Trelora reviews said the reviewers saved much on real estate commission by using Trelora.
We could make more competitive offers with Trelora. We were saving more than 50% on the real estate commission, and we could put all that money right into our offer.
– Nicole A., Yelp, April 2022
I paid 2.8 percent to the buyers agent to assure the house would be shown and only a flat fee of $2,500.00 to Trelora. This saved me over $14,000.00 …
– Janice L., Google, May 2018
✅ Responsiveness
Other Trelora positive reviews said their Trelora agents were responsive and available to answer all their questions. The fact that many negative Trelora reviews said the opposite (see next section) suggests that your Trelora real estate experience depends heavily on which Trelora agents you work with.
They walk you through every step and are very responsive to all my questions and situations.
– Holly S., Google, November 2023
Bobby Ross was our contact and he was very responsive; answered all our first time homebuyer questions, etc.
– Vernie D., Yelp, December 2021
✅ Fast and easy sale
Trelora positive reviews from satisfied customers often singled out Trelora’s use of technology as a selling point, saying that it provided a fast and smooth real estate transaction.
Trelora’s use of technology from start to finish was definitely a time saver.
– JAT, Yelp, September 2020
The whole process capitilizes on technology and admittedly I was slightly suprised how much could be done from my phone as I only went through traditional face to face transactions in the past.
– Kris C., Yelp, June 2021
❌ Poor communication
Several reviewers mentioned that their Trelora agents repeatedly failed to return phone calls and messages, or didn’t return them promptly.
First of all, their “professional photos” are garbage…..Mostly, they all work remotely, and too many times I call into the main number, and it’s like “no one is home”… I’d call, you get the answer phone message of : “we will call you back in one hour” ; and no one calls…. You have to keep calling, and calling, and begging others to connect you to someone.
– Gary M., Yelp, July 2020
Multiple instances of requesting a phone call from someone on the team, because they obviously weren’t reading text, with only text replies back.
– Sailor M., Google, 2022
❌ Unresponsive buyer’s agents
A recurring theme among unhappy Trelora buyers was that their Trelora agents failed to submit offers on time, or failed to allow them to match or exceed an offer, potentially costing them a home purchase.
Trelora said they would take all offers by noon and by 5pm, we’d have an answer. So we waited and waited… And called and emailed until well after they closed at 6pm. We didn’t hear anything from them again until 9am the next day to say the sellers hadn’t decided. We wait some more and suddenly at noon, a third-party website shows it’s under contract. Still, we had heard nothing. They weren’t answering my realtor’s calls or emails so I finally had to call myself. When I finally spoke to the person in charge, I asked him, What happened? Who got the contract? He tells me the winning offer and I ask if it’s final, as WE COULD HAVE OUTBID THEM
– Tricia K., Yelp, March 2017
I said if you receive a higher offer, just let me know and I will most likely beat it, but please keep me in the loop. I like the house a lot and will probably outbid another offer.
Long story short, they received another offer, I was not informed and the [seller] accepted it. This offer was $18k under my maximum number and I was never given the opportunity to make a bid.
– Sean S., Yelp, August 2019
❌ Inaccurate listings
Some unhappy sellers said their property didn’t garner any interest because Trelora agents made mistakes in their listing— an accusation that Trelora has sometimes acknowledged as true. Reviewers have complained about this as far back as 2017, and as recently as late 2023, suggesting that Trelora may not have fixed the problem.
I listed my Condo for 8k less than they recommended and had 1 showing in 2 weeks in one of the hottest markets in the country? Why because they couldn’t even get the MLS Listing right!!” [Trelora responded to this review and acknowledged their mistake.] – Kerry A., Yelp, June 2017
My Denver property has been on market nearly 100 days. Errors on Treloras part all throughout. If they manage to ever sell this property I’ll change review to 2 stars.
– Andrew E., Google, September 2023
Trelora vs. the competition
| Company | Our Rating | Listing Fee | Availability | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Best overall
Clever Real Estate |
Our rating
|
1.5%
Min. $3,000
|
Nationwide
|
Find Agents |
Ideal Agent |
Our rating
|
2%
Min. $3,000
|
Nationwide
|
Learn More |
Redfin |
Our rating
|
1.5%
Min. fee varies
|
26 states
|
Learn more |
Prevu |
Our rating
|
1.5%
Min. fee varies
|
13 states
|
Learn More |
Listing Fee
Active Since
Buyer Savings
✍️ Our take
Pros and cons
Company details
Clever Real Estate is the best option for sellers looking to save on realtor commissions. Its 1.5% listing fee is among the lowest of any full-service, nationwide brand. You save thousands on commission and work with top local realtors from well-known brokerages, like RE/MAX and Keller Williams.
Pros
- 1.5% listing fee is half the typical rate.
- Agents have strong sales records and great customer reviews.
- Free agent-finding platform with no obligation to sign with a realtor.
Cons
- Add-ons like drone photography and staging may cost extra.
- May not get matched with a specific realtor if they’re not in Clever’s network.
- Service that matches sellers and buyers with full-service real estate agents
- Sellers pay a pre-negotiated 1.5% listing fee (half the average rate) to their realtor after a successful home sale
- To join Clever’s network, real estate agents must be top performers in their local market, have 5+ years of experience, and demonstrate a track record of positive customer reviews
- Clever has a 5/5 rating across 3,100+ online reviews
- Accredited through the Better Business Bureau and holds an A+ rating
- Agents offer full service and support, including pricing advice, photography, MLS listing and description, negotiation support, etc.
- Eligible buyers receive $250 cash back
Listing Fee
Active Since
Buyer Savings
✍️ Our take
Pros and cons
Company details
Ideal Agent does a good job of vetting its agents, and it offers a small discount for sellers. But it has a limited service area and a small agent network, which limits your ability to choose the best agent for your situation. Alternative services, like Clever, offer the same service — but with better savings, more coverage, and more agents.
Pros
- Matched with full-service realtors.
- 2% listing fee is slightly less than average.
Cons
- Only get one agent match.
- 2% listing fee is higher than most discount brands.
- Platform that matches sellers and buyers with full-service real estate agents
- Company negotiates a 2% listing fee with its realtors, which is slightly less than market value (2.5-3%)
- Sellers are responsible for paying a competitive buyer’s agent commission, usually 2.5-3% depending on the market
- Ideal Agent has a 4.9/5.0 rating across 7,000+ reviews
- Accredited through the Better Business Bureau with a A+ rating
- Agents are expected to offer full-service and support, including pricing advice, photography, negotiation support, etc.
- No guaranteed buyer savings
Listing Fee
Active Since
Buyer Savings
✍️ Our take
Pros and cons
Company details
Redfin is an established discount brokerage that offers impressive savings — especially if you buy and sell with the brokerage. But some of its agents are inexperienced. And while Redfin’s tech-focused approach comes with some neat features, it also means you may get less hands-on support than you need.
Pros
- 1.5% listing fee provides good savings.
- Extras (like 3D walk-throughs) can help sell your home.
- Significant savings if you buy and sell with Redfin.
Cons
- Agent quality and customer service are not always great.
- High minimum fees in some markets.
- Agents may not have expertise in your local market.
- Full-service discount brokerage with licensed, salaried agents
- Sellers pay a 1.5% listing fee to their agent after a successful home sale
- Sellers who also buy a home with Redfin will receive 0.5% cash back, bringing their total commission to 1%
- Minimum fees vary by market but are $4,000 on average, meaning that sellers of homes priced $250,000 or below may pay more than the 1.5% listing fee
- Sellers are responsible for paying a competitive buyer’s agent commission, usually 2.5-3% depending on the market
- Redfin has a 3.6 / 5 rating on Yelp (900+ reviews) and a 1.6 / 5 rating on Consumer Affairs (140+ reviews) — but you can also find reviews of individual agents on Redfin.com
- Not accredited through the Better Business Bureau
- Redfin agents provide free photography, a 3D walkthrough to market your home to potential buyers, and traditional services like pricing advice, negotiation support, yard signs, and open houses.
Listing Fee
Active Since
Buyer Savings
Our take
Pros and cons
Company details
Prevu is one of the few discount real estate brokers that offers significant savings for both sellers and buyers. Its 1.5% listing fee is competitive with other brands, and buyers can get up to 2% back after closing. But Prevu is a small company, so you’ll want to ensure the agent it matches you with is actually suitable for your transaction.
Pros
- 1.5% listing fee offers good savings for sellers
- Buyers can receive up to 1% back after closing
Cons
- High minimum fees can limit savings
- Small agent network means you may not get an agent with local expertise
- Licensed real estate brokerage with full-service, salaried real estate agents
- Prevu agents charge a 1.5% listing fee, which is less than market value (2.5-3%)
- Sellers are responsible for paying a competitive buyer’s agent commission, usually 2.5-3% depending on the market
- Prevu has a 5/5 rating across 602 reviews
- Not accredited through the Better Business Bureau
- Agents are expected to offer full-service and support, including pricing advice, photography, negotiation support, etc.
- Buyers can receive up to 1% of the final sale price of their home as a rebate after closing (subject to a minimum commission of $10,000)
How Trelora works
What to expect as a seller
The Trelora process is fairly straightforward and resembles a conventional sale— except that you won’t have a dedicated agent you work with throughout the process. Instead, you’ll use a team-based approach.
- First, you’ll book a consultation with a Trelora pricing agent to discuss fair market pricing strategy with you.
- If you choose to sign on with Trelora, your pricing agent will arrange for a photographer to visit your home and take listing photos.
- Your Trelora agent and their team will handle your MLS listing, marketing, and showings.
- Once you have a good fair market offer, your Trelora listing agent will negotiate price with the buyer.
- Your Trelora agent and team will then guide you through your home’s appraisal, inspection, and closing. Your Trelora agent will come to the closing table with you in person if you request.
- You pay a 1% ($3,000 minimum flat fee) listing fee at closing.
What to expect as a buyer
Working with Trelora as a buyer is similar to what a seller would experience with Trelora’s signature team based approach.
- Once you contact Trelora, they’ll connect you with a local Trelora buyer agent, though they won’t be your dedicated agent.
- If your buyer consultation goes well, you’ll sign a buyer agency agreement and then begin touring homes.
- You can schedule showings through Trelora’s app; a showing agent will take you to unlimited showings.
- If you find a home you like, a Trelora buyer’s agent will help you put in an offer.
- At closing, you get half of the buyer’s agent commission as a rebate.
Trelora news and updates
Trelora was founded in 2011 in Denver. After early controversy related to low buyer agent commissions, the company found its footing and quickly expanded to seven additional states. In 2022, Trelora was acquired by competitor Houwzer; though Trelora has fully merged with Houwzer, it has kept the name Trelora in the states where it has a presence. The company’s main service change has been to go from a flat fee brokerage to a discount 1% brokerage.
Bottom line: Should I use Trelora?
Trelora works best for sellers who don’t need a lot of personalized attention from their listing agent. If you have a very desirable home in a hot market or you’re fairly independent, you’ll likely be satisfied with your Trelora experience and its team-based approach.
Even sellers who would prefer a personalized agent experience or a dedicated agent should consider Trelora if they’re selling a high-priced home. Trelora’s 1% listing fee could save them five figures in real estate fees if they sell a home for more than half a million dollars.
On the other hand, if you have a difficult property or need a lot of attention from a dedicated agent, you might be better served finding a conventional real estate agent instead of using Trelora’s team-based approach.
FAQ about Trelora Real Estate
Related articles
If you’re considering Trelora pros and cons, it’s important to compare all of your discount broker options. Read the following resources to learn about other ways to save.
What Companies Offer the Lowest Real Estate Commission Fees? Trelora offers cheap listing fees, but it’s not the only company offering realtor commission discounts. Find out which company charges the lowest commission fees.
Discount Real Estate Brokers and Agents: Everything You Need to Know: Selling with a discount real estate broker like Trelora is often a very different experience from using a traditional realtor. Learn more about how discount brokers work and how to decide which company is the best fit for your situation.
Clever Real Estate: Must-See Reviews: Clever connects home buyers and sellers to top-rated real estate agents in their area. Learn how their free agent-matching service can help you sell with full-service realtors for just 1.5%.
Methodology
The Real Estate Witch team evaluated Trelora on various factors, including savings, customer service, online reviews, agent quality, and how it compares to the competition. Our mission is to empower you to decide whether Trelora is right for your next real estate transaction.
Our low commission real estate brokerage rankings are based on three key criteria:
- Cost and savings. We compared Trelora’s pricing model to top competitors and average prices across the U.S., including the average listing fee, minimum fees, and any buyer incentives offered.
- Customer service. We performed an in-depth analysis on Trelora’s customer reviews across review sites. We broke down the sentiment of reviews, looking at themes around agent responsiveness, expertise, and meeting customer expectations.
- Ease of use. We evaluated how efficient it is for customers to find, compare, and select an agent through Trelora, evaluating their agent network size, technical platforms, communication methods, and post-transaction support.
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