Honest comparison

Flat-fee agent vs no agent in California

California buyers now have three ways to buy: a traditional agent at the full commission, a flat-fee or rebate service that keeps an agent in the loop for less, and representing yourself. This page compares the last two, with checked numbers and named sources, written by a California broker.

The short answer

Two good options, one real difference

Pick a flat-fee agent if

You want a licensed professional legally bound to your interests, writing your offers and negotiating on your behalf, and roughly $9,000 to $12,000 feels fair for that. It is the same representation model as a traditional agent, at a better price.

Go without an agent if

You want to make the decisions, hold the pen, and put the entire buyer-side commission on the negotiating table instead of the slice left after a fee. AI now carries the rest: pricing against comps, summarizing disclosures, drafting responses, watching deadlines.

Side by side

What each path actually looks like

Who represents you

Flat-fee agent: A licensed agent with fiduciary duty to you, at a lower price

You, with Ohvii: Nobody. You represent yourself with the AI doing the prep; Ohvii is not your agent or broker

Who finds the home

Flat-fee agent: Usually you. Most flat-fee services expect buyers to bring the listing

You, with Ohvii: You browse anywhere and paste the listing link; Ohvii imports the specs, photos, and nearby sold comps

Who writes the offer

Flat-fee agent: Their agent drafts it, often with software behind the scenes

You, with Ohvii: You do, guided field by field on Ohvii's own California forms, with comps beside the price

What it costs

Flat-fee agent: Roughly $2,000 to $12,000, usually taken out of the commission flow

You, with Ohvii: No representation fee exists. Ohvii is free during beta, with no cut of the transaction

Counters and deadlines

Flat-fee agent: Their agent runs the back and forth and tracks the dates

You, with Ohvii: AI summarizes each counter, drafts your response, and alerts you before every deadline

The commission money

Flat-fee agent: A seller-offered buyer-broker fee flows through the brokerage; you get what is left after their fee

You, with Ohvii: Nothing flows through anyone. The amount a seller budgeted for a buyer's agent becomes negotiating room: a credit or a lower price

Paperwork you sign to start

Flat-fee agent: A buyer representation agreement (California caps it at three months)

You, with Ohvii: Nothing. No agreement, no lock-in, no exclusivity

Best for

Flat-fee agent: Buyers who want professional judgment on call and a human handling the process

You, with Ohvii: Buyers who want full control, with AI carrying the reading, drafting, and tracking an agent's office used to

Last verified July 8, 2026. Fee ranges reflect the published pricing of California flat-fee services listed below.

The money

The math on an $800,000 home

A traditional buyer’s agent at the typical 2.5 to 3%$20,000 to $24,000

Flat-fee agent (TurboHome’s own example fee; Arrivva’s flat fee)$9,000 to $9,750

Representing yourself$0 in representation fees

Behind the range: California agents put the buyer-side average at 2.74% in a February 2026 survey. With no agent, the money a seller budgeted for a buyer’s agent does not vanish; it becomes negotiating room you can ask for as a closing-cost credit or a lower price, within your lender’s limits.

The players

Who is actually operating in California

TurboHome

What you getSalaried in-house agent handles tours, offers, negotiation, and closing, with AI valuation and disclosure analysis on top.

What it costsNo published schedule. Their own examples: $9,000 fee on a $700K home, $12,000 at $1.6M; the rest of any seller-paid commission is rebated to you.

California coverageBay Area flagship, with closed deals from Los Angeles to Sacramento.

Arrivva

What you getThe broker personally writes every contract; communication runs on Slack. Built for self-directed buyers.

What it costs$9,750 flat. You receive any seller-offered buyer-broker fee above that, paid after closing.

California coverageStatewide, headquartered in El Segundo.

Prevu (reAlpha)

What you getHands-off agents; you find the home, they write and close. Owned by reAlpha since late 2025.

What it costsRebate of up to 1% of the price, conditional on the commission offered and your lender’s approval.

California coverageBay Area, per their materials.

Landian

What you getPay-per-task agent network: tours and offer prep a la carte, no ongoing agent.

What it costs$49 per tour, $199 per agent-led offer prep, or a $1,799 package.

California coverageNationwide, California included.

Redfin Sign & Save

What you getA full Redfin agent on their team model, with a refund for committing early.

What it costs0.25% of the price back (0.5% on Premier homes) if you sign before your second tour and close within 180 days.

California coverageStatewide.

homecoin

What you getBudget brokerage with limited-service buyer representation.

What it costs$2,999 flat, or $149 per hour.

California coverageCalifornia.

Ohvii (the no-agent path)

What you getNo agent at all. You represent yourself and the AI does the office work: listing import, comps, guided offer writing, e-sign, counter summaries, and deadline alerts.

What it costsFree during beta. No commission, no transaction cut.

California coverageStatewide.

Checked against each company’s public pages and coverage on July 8, 2026. Prevu’s site blocks automated checks, so their figures come from their own marketing materials and third-party reviews. Pricing changes; confirm directly before you rely on it.

Their words

Even the flat-fee companies concede the point

“If you can find a dream listing all on your own, and you’ve been to the bottom of every Reddit thread about making a strategic offer, why do you need an agent... You don’t.”

TurboHome, “Do You Still Need a Real Estate Agent?”

Their answer is to hire their flat-fee agent anyway. Here is the honest version: the work an agent’s office used to do, the pricing homework, the forms, the reading and summarizing, the deadline math, is exactly the part AI handles now. What is left is judgment. And judgment is yours either way: you decide the price with an agent advising you, and you decide it without one.

Fair is fair

Where each one genuinely wins

The flat-fee agent is the better fit when

You want someone to tell you what to do: what to offer, when to push back, when to walk away. AI can inform every one of those calls; an agent will make them with you.
You want a licensed professional who is legally accountable to you if the deal goes sideways.
You want a human physically there: at tours, at the walk-through, on the phone when it gets tense.

Going without an agent is the better fit when

You want the decisions and the pace to be yours, with AI doing the reading, summarizing, and drafting an agent’s office used to do.
You want the full buyer-side commission in the negotiation, not the remainder after a fee.
You would rather sign nothing: no representation agreement, no exclusivity, no clock.

The part nobody advertises: the deal itself is identical either way. Same seller disclosures, same contingency rights, same escrow. Representation changes who does the work, not what the deal is. Ohvii walks the purchase contract step by step as you build your offer, and when a line makes no sense, you ask the AI right there.

Questions buyers ask

The fine print, answered

Is a flat-fee buyer's agent worth it?

If you want representation, it is the cheaper way to get it. A flat fee near $9,000 beats the $20,000 to $24,000 that a typical 2.5 to 3% buyer-side commission costs on an $800,000 home, and you get the same fiduciary duty. The trade is a more self-directed process: most flat-fee services expect you to find the home yourself.

Can I buy a house in California without any agent?

Yes. No California law requires a buyer to have representation, and the Department of Real Estate lists proceeding unrepresented as a lawful option. In NAR's 2025 national profile, 12% of buyers bought without one.

What happens to the buyer-agent commission if I have no agent?

Nothing automatic. There is no pot of money you collect at closing. What changes is the negotiation: a seller who budgeted 2 to 3% for a buyer's agent no longer needs to spend it, and you can ask for that room as a credit toward your closing costs or a lower price. Lenders cap how large a credit can be, so the details belong in the offer.

Are commission rebates legal in California?

Yes. California allows a broker to rebate part of the commission to their own client, which is what makes flat-fee and rebate models work here. Around nine states ban rebates; California is not one of them.

Do flat-fee services make you sign a contract?

Generally yes. Since the 2024 rule changes, an agent working with a buyer needs a written buyer agreement, and California caps agreements with individual buyers at three months. Some services, like TurboHome, advertise non-exclusive agreements, so read the exclusivity terms before signing.

Keep going

Want to see the self-represented side?

Paste a listing link and Ohvii walks you from listing to signed offer packet to a tracked email thread, with every deadline on a timeline. Free during beta.

New here? See how Ohvii works or check pricing (free during beta).