Our mission: To connect people with the most trustworthy advice and the best solutions for every step of their real estate journey.
Our Story
Co-founders Ben Mizes and Luke Babich met as kids growing up on the same street in St. Louis. After college, they began investing in real estate together and founded Clever Real Estate in 2017, combining their hands-on experience in the housing market with data-driven strategy. Since then, Clever has worked to provide trustworthy advice and smart solutions to make buying and selling a home easier and more affordable for everyone, wherever they are on their real estate journey.
What We Do
When you sell a home with Clever, you'll be connected with realtors from our nationwide network of more than 17,000 top-producing agents from all the major brands and local brokerages. Thanks to the size of our agent network, we can negotiate a lower commission rate on your behalf, so you can sell your home with a full-service listing agent for just 1.5%.
To date, we've helped 179,000 customers find the right real estate agent and save more than $210 million on realtor fees — without compromising on service or experience. Our concierge team is available to help you find the perfect agent seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST. Sign up online or call us at 1-833-225-3837.
What to Expect
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Step 1: Getting started is easy. It only takes minutes to sign up online. If you prefer to speak to someone directly, call 1‑833‑725‑3837. Our concierge team is available seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. to assist you.
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Step 2: If you contact us during business hours, you'll receive a call from our concierge team within five minutes to discuss your home-buying or home-selling needs. This 15-minute introductory call gives us a chance to explain our 1.5% commission model and answer any questions.
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Step 3: When possible, we'll transfer you directly to an agent. Otherwise, you'll be matched with one to three agents via a group text or email within 24 hours — typically within the same day.
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Step 4: Once you choose an agent, Clever's concierge team will follow up throughout your journey via text, call, or email.
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Step 5: Eligible buyers will receive a link to claim their cash back via email within 30 days of their closing being recorded in our system
Other Services
Clever Offers
Clever Offers' free service delivers flexible selling solutions designed to fit your needs and timeline. Our Cash Offers program provides sellers with multiple cash offers from vetted buyers so they can sell their house fast with no repairs needed. For sellers who want a higher price than a traditional cash sale, Instant Cash Offers gives sellers most of their home's value upfront, plus a second payment if the buyer resells their home for a profit. Sellers can also test the market with our 7 Day Sold program, which lists a home with a traditional realtor for just seven days to generate more cash offers.
Clever Closing Services
Clever's full-service title and escrow company aims to provide a smooth, secure, and efficient closing experience by combining local expertise and a user-friendly platform that allows clients to access key documents and track their escrow process in real time.
CleverPro
CleverPro's all-in-one engagement suite equips mortgage lenders with powerful tools to grow their business. Clever Pro's five components enable lenders to convert more leads, enhance customer engagement, build their brand through personalized marketing, and drive sales using real-time analytics.
Clever Rewards
Clever Rewards is a free loyalty program that helps you save money when you buy your next home. Earn rewards by paying your rent or mortgage, searching for homes, reading content, and tracking your savings. Redeem your rewards to save money on a future home purchase.
Clever Cash Back
Customers in eligible states receive a rebate of $250 when they buy a home with a Clever agent, while customers who buy and sell with Clever earn $500 Clever Cash Back.
Why Trust Us?
Thousands of buyers and sellers have trusted Clever to handle one of life’s biggest financial decisions — and you can too.
🤝 We only work with the best. Our nationwide network consists of 17,000 top-producing agents who have been carefully vetted to meet strict performance standards.
🏡 We help sell nearly 10,000 homes through our platform each year, so you can trust that we have the experience to guide you every step of the way.
⭐ Our customers consistently have a great experience. We've earned an average 5.0-star rating on Trustpilot from 3,700 verified customer reviews.
Our Team
At Clever, our team of expert writers and editors spends thousands of hours digging into data to help people make smarter real estate decisions. Our workplace values collaboration, personal growth, and having fun while doing meaningful work.
We’re not in it for the accolades, but we're grateful when others notice our efforts to make real estate transactions easier and more affordable for everyone. In 2024, the St. Louis Business Journal named Clever one of the best places to work. We've also earned recognition as one of Inc. Regionals' fastest-growing companies in the Midwest.
Several team members have also received individual honors for their contributions to the industry:
- Luke Babich, CEO, was named a 2023 HousingWire Vanguard Award winner, recognizing C-level leaders who have become experts in their field.
- Tim Gaasch, vice president of account management, received the 2023 HousingWire Insider Award, honoring behind-the-scenes leaders driving growth within their company and the industry.
- Drake Shadwell, Clever Offers manager, earned a 2025 HousingWire Rising Star Award, celebrating the next generation of leaders making a significant impact in the real estate industry.
Our Research
Each year, millions of readers turn to Clever's content library of approximately 8,000 articles to make smarter real estate decisions. The data-driven guides, reviews, and educational content we publish provide readers with broad market trends, as well as local insights tailored to their needs. Our growing database of local content features the best low commission realtors, discount brokers, and cash-buying companies in every U.S. state — helping readers find the best options in their area.
Consumers and media outlets alike widely recognize Clever as a trusted source of unbiased real estate research. Our studies have been featured in leading publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Forbes, Fox Business, NBC News, Chicago Tribune, Business Insider, and more.
Our reporters are frequently featured in the media for their real estate expertise. To request an interview or partner with us on a study, email our PR team at media@movewithclever.com.
How We Make Money
Clever sends our partner agents a steady stream of new prospective clients who have been pre-screened to ensure they're ready to buy or sell. This saves agents thousands of dollars in marketing costs they would otherwise spend trying to find new business. In exchange for client referrals at no upfront cost, agents agree to pay Clever a percentage of their commission once they close a transaction with a Clever client.
In some markets, Clever also owns and operates title and escrow companies, providing customers with a more integrated experience while also generating additional revenue by keeping these services in-house.
We believe in the quality and value of our recommendations but recognize they won’t always work for everyone. In these cases, we point readers toward vetted, third-party providers — and occasionally, we earn a small commission.