Clever Real Estate

Clever Real Estate

Clever Real Estate launched in 2017 when co-founders Ben Mizes and Luke Babich, childhood friends turned St. Louis real estate investors, built a marketplace that negotiates commission savings on behalf of home sellers. The company connects consumers to a pre-vetted network of agents from brokerages including Keller Williams, RE/MAX, Compass, and Coldwell Banker, charging the seller a 1.5% listing fee rather than the typical 2.5–3%. Buyers receive a cash-back rebate, and the platform earns its revenue when partner agents pay Clever a portion of their commission upon closing. Clever's model spans residential resales and an iBuyer-style cash-offer arm called Clever Offers, which aggregates bids from institutional buyers and quick-sale programs — facilitating over $500 million in home sale transactions since its launch. The company also operates a title and escrow division under President Tony Chahal, who previously built new verticals at HomeLight (per firm website, 2026). On the consumer side, Clever fields an eight-person concierge team that supports clients from agent matching through closing, generating a 4.9-star rating across more than 4,000 Trustpilot reviews. The firm's research and editorial unit, led by VP Tommy O'Shaughnessy, produces 8,000+ articles and data studies cited by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and CNBC. Clever employs a leadership team split across product, partner success, and data — Head of Data Trent Seigfried previously founded personal-finance publication The Simple Dollar — and the company was named a Best Place to Work by the St. Louis Business Journal in 2024. HousingWire recognized CEO Luke Babich with a 2023 Vanguard Award, and Jake Cardenas, an original co-founder, now runs technology partnerships from Chicago. The firm does not disclose total assets under management, given its marketplace structure. Structurally, Clever acts as a high-volume referral engine rather than a brokerage or investment manager. It inserts itself between the consumer and the agent at the point of fee negotiation, capturing value from the commission split while the consumer pays zero for the matching service. That design means Clever carries no inventory risk on homes and operates with a variable cost base tied to closed transactions, distinguishing it from both traditional brokerages and balance-sheet iBuyers.