Homebuyers are saving thousands of dollars by using artificial intelligence to cut out some of the costly legwork traditionally performed by real estate agents \u2014 while still keeping a human broker on call to negotiate and close the deal.<\/p>\n
The new model is geared toward buyers who already scour listings and open houses themselves, but still want an expert to handle offers, contracts and the closing process \u2014 without having to cough up a percentage-based commission.<\/p>\n
The model is part of a broader push to use AI to automate work once performed by professional middlemen \u2014 from managing investments and preparing taxes to booking travel \u2014 with TurboHome betting the same shift is coming for residential real estate.<\/p>\n
Melissa Pereira, 34, bought a $625,000 single-family property in Roseville, Calif. using TurboHome. Handout<\/p>\n
\u201cThe experience feels like Zillow on steroids,\u201d Ben Bear, CEO of AI-powered brokerage TurboHome, told The Post, referring to the company\u2019s new dashboard.<\/p>\n
TurboHome, which launched in late 2024, charges a flat fee at closing rather than keeping the full buyer-agent commission. When a seller pays TurboHome a commission above that fee, the company returns the difference to the buyer as a rebate.<\/p>\n
For example, on a $1.5 million home where the seller agrees to pay a 3% buyer-agent commission, TurboHome would receive $45,000, keep its $12,000 flat fee and rebate the remaining $33,000 to the buyer, according to the company.<\/p>\n
Buyers can generally use the rebate for eligible closing costs, to buy down their mortgage rate or, depending on the transaction and lender requirements, receive it as cash after closing.<\/p>\n
The company says it has facilitated 388 transactions totaling $440 million in home sales.<\/p>\n
Bob Miller, broker and owner of Millshire Realty in Lakeland, Fla., told The Post that AI-powered brokerages could put pressure on traditional commissions \u2014 particularly for simpler transactions \u2014 but said the technology is unlikely to eliminate agents altogether.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t believe AI signals the end of the real estate agent, but I absolutely believe it will change the industry,\u201d Miller said.<\/p>\n
Ravi Surampudi, a 38-year-old software engineer, is set to receive a $21,750 rebate after purchasing a newly built $1.125 million home in Prosper, Texas. Handout<\/p>\n
He said lower-priced and more straightforward deals could increasingly migrate toward AI-heavy, flat-fee models, while more complex purchases would still require human judgment.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs you move into higher-end properties and more complicated transactions, I don\u2019t believe the human element is going anywhere,\u201d Miller said. \u201cAI can provide information, but it can\u2019t completely replace experience, judgment and relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n
Miller said the bigger threat to traditional agents is not outright replacement, but pressure to justify what they charge.<\/p>\n
\u201cAI isn\u2019t going to eliminate the real estate agent,\u201d Miller said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to force real estate agents to prove what their human expertise is actually worth.\u201d<\/p>\n
TurboHome isn\u2019t alone in challenging the traditional commission model. Bear acknowledged that regional flat-fee buyer brokerages also offer commission rebates, though he said few combine them with an AI-native buying platform and licensed human agents.<\/p>\n
The savings can add up quickly, the company boasts.<\/p>\n
Ravi Surampudi, a 38-year-old software engineer at Workday, is set to receive a $21,750 rebate after purchasing a new $1.125 million home in Prosper, Texas.<\/p>\n
The builder agreed to pay a 3% buyer-agent commission, or $33,750, with TurboHome keeping its $12,000 flat fee and returning the remaining $21,750 to Surampudi, according to the company.<\/p>\n
Surampudi said he and his wife had already done much of the house hunting themselves and knew what they wanted before making a trip to Texas.<\/p>\n
\u201cTurboHome\u2019s model made a lot more sense for us because we are getting the best of both worlds,\u201d Surampudi told The Post.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome closing cost credit, but also the facilities of an actual human being, rather than submitting docs across a portal.\u201d<\/p>\n
The company\u2019s pitch is that AI can automate much of the work performed behind the scenes by traditional agents \u2014 including comparable-sales analysis, disclosure reviews and property recommendations \u2014 while human agents concentrate on advice and negotiation.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt a high level, 80% of people are finding the home themselves on Zillow,\u201d Bear said.<\/p>\n
A Q2 2026 ResiClub survey cited by TurboHome found that 77% of US homeowners surveyed said they found their most recent home themselves, compared with 22% who said their agent found it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019ve tried to do is reorient around the consumer as the customer,\u201d Bear added.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow can we have the fewest agents possible doing the most deals, but use the technology to make it a full-service experience?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bear said TurboHome agents generally close between 30 and 50 transactions annually. The company cited a Consumer Federation of America study that found 70% of agents sold five or fewer homes over a 12-month period.<\/p>\n
TurboHome\u2019s new dashboard lets homebuyers search listings, analyze properties and take steps toward making an offer while remaining connected to a human agent. Handout<\/p>\n
The startup\u2019s new dashboard pushes more of its AI-powered property research, valuation and transaction tools directly into buyers\u2019 hands.<\/p>\n
Customers can search for properties using conversational queries, request valuations and comparable sales, book tours and begin drafting offers, according to Bear.<\/p>\n
They can also communicate with both an AI assistant and their assigned human agent through the same interface.<\/p>\n
TurboHome currently has 14 agents, according to the company. Its regional managers are salaried employees while most of its local agents are independent contractors.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have to do this,\u201d Bear said of the self-service tools. \u201cYou can still have the agent do it all for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The growing use of AI also raises questions about what happens to the personal and financial information consumers provide to such platforms.<\/p>\n
TurboHome said it uses third-party AI models but does not use consumer data to train them. Its AI processes chat messages, files and buyer profile information for personalization, but the company said it does not send customers\u2019 names, email addresses or phone numbers to outside entities.<\/p>\n
Miller said the issue warrants scrutiny as more of the homebuying process becomes automated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are also legitimate privacy and consumer-protection concerns,\u201d he said. \u201cReal estate transactions involve sensitive financial and personal information, so consumers need to know how that data is being stored, protected and used.\u201d<\/p>\n
That hybrid approach appealed to Surampudi, who was purchasing remotely and didn\u2019t need an agent accompanying him to scores of showings.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you know what you want and you\u2019ve done your research,\u201d he said, \u201cthen I don\u2019t see any [reason] to look at any other real estate agents, because then the rest of the 90% is handled by them pretty easily.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other buyers similarly said the financial savings \u2014 rather than the flashy AI features \u2014 initially attracted them.<\/p>\n
Letty Neuendorff, a 39-year-old analyzer technician for an energy company in the Houston area, received a $6,150 closing credit when she bought a $410,000 five-bedroom home in Clear Lake. TurboHome collected a matching $6,150 fee.<\/p>\n
Neuendorff, who has bought several homes previously, said she didn\u2019t use TurboHome\u2019s consumer-facing AI tools during her purchase. Instead, the technology operated largely behind the scenes while she dealt with her agent, Jake.<\/p>\n
TurboHome CEO Ben Bear described the company\u2019s new AI-powered dashboard as \u201cZillow on steroids.\u201d Handout<\/p>\n
The transaction moved at breakneck speed: Neuendorff said they closed in 15 days after her agent connected her with a mortgage broker capable of meeting the tight deadline.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no way that we could have pulled this off in fifteen days had I not had a good broker and a good rep,\u201d Neuendorff said.<\/p>\n
She said the biggest difference from her previous experiences was responsiveness.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was able to get top notch communication, which I think is the most important thing,\u201d Neuendorff said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were no hiccups at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neuendorff has already recommended the company to her sister.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know this sounds like it\u2019s kind of a little fishy,\u201d she recalled telling her, before adding: \u201cThank goodness for technology, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Melissa Pereira, 34, chief of audiology for a large healthcare system, likewise sought out a cheaper alternative when she bought her second home, a $625,000 single-family property in Roseville, Calif.<\/p>\n
Pereira said she had contacted several traditional Realtors but hadn\u2019t found the right fit before discovering TurboHome through an online search.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe communication was fantastic,\u201d Pereira said. \u201cThey were immediately responsive to anything via text or email. I would typically hear back from them within the hour.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her deal was structured differently from a conventional rebate.<\/p>\n
The AI-powered TurboHome platform allows buyers to search for homes using conversational prompts instead of traditional filters. Handout<\/p>\n
Instead of collecting a percentage-based buyer-agent commission, TurboHome charged the seller its $9,000 flat fee. That reduced the total commission cost and freed up money that could be used to lower Pereira\u2019s purchase price while still allowing the seller to receive the proceeds needed to buy a replacement property, according to the company.<\/p>\n
Pereira estimated that the arrangement saved her about $10,000.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re trying to buy in a more competitive area, TurboHome is an excellent tool,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEspecially if you\u2019re a second time home buyer and know what you\u2019re looking for, have done it before.\u201d<\/p>\n
The company says its transactions have ranged from $200,000 to $12 million.<\/p>\n
It completed deals in 76 cities across California and Texas during the second quarter and said its buyers won 49% of their offers during the quarter.<\/p>\n
Bear said the business is designed around the idea that AI will increasingly take over routine tasks without eliminating the human agent entirely.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know that the human part is ever going to go away,\u201d Bear said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlmost everything that can\u2019t be automated today will be possible to automate in the future,\u201d he added, \u201cwith the exception of the human to human piece.\u201d<\/p>\n
For buyers who want an agent to spend every weekend finding and showing them properties, however, Pereira said the old-fashioned approach may still make more sense.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they\u2019re looking for somebody to spend weekends showing them houses and doing all the legwork of finding a place, TurboHome wouldn\u2019t be a great fit,\u201d Pereira said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if you want the expertise on negotiations, contract and getting you to closing, then TurboHome is a great fit for you.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Homebuyers are saving thousands of dollars by using artificial intelligence to cut out some of the costly legwork…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":824666,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[182,181,507,28,1170,1349,74],"class_list":["post-824665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-business","tag-real-estate","tag-residential-real-estate","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=824665"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824665\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/824666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=824665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=824665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=824665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}