Start your match

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

The questions clients ask most — answered plainly.

What does Agent Match Concierge cost?
It depends on who brings the candidates. When we source and refer, there is no added cost to you — if you hire one of our candidates and close, that agent's brokerage pays Compass a referral fee out of the agent's side of the commission (25–30% of it, set in writing before candidates are chosen and identical for every candidate we present). When you bring your own agents and want them compared, the Agent Evaluation Report is a flat fee — $795 for homes up to $2M, $1,495 above — quoted in writing before we start. Because we're paid the same regardless of whom you pick, neither path has a reason to steer you.
How is this different from HomeLight, Agent Pronto, or other matching sites?
Three ways. First, you see the evidence: a side-by-side comparison of each agent's recent nearby sales, pricing outcomes, marketing scope, fees, and communication — not names from a black box. Second, you can bring your own candidates; most matching sites only recommend agents from their own paying network. Third, every candidate we present operates under the same referral standard, so compensation cannot influence the recommendation.
How many listing agents should I interview before choosing?
At least two, ideally three. NAR's Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers has consistently found most sellers contact only one agent before signing — which means the decision is usually made by familiarity, not comparison. Interviewing three agents with the same questions is the single highest-leverage hour in your entire sale.
Can you evaluate agents I've already interviewed?
Yes — that's often the most valuable moment to bring us in. Send us the proposals or names you've collected and we'll produce a flat-fee Agent Evaluation Report: the same scorecard we use for agents we source, applied to your candidates, with a written recommendation and the reasoning behind it. You make the final call.
Do you only recommend Compass agents?
No. Compass and its affiliated brands are a deep sourcing bench, and staying inside that network is often convenient — but fit overrides affiliation. If the strongest candidate for your home works elsewhere, that's who we present. The comparison report shows you why each candidate made the shortlist.
What's actually in the comparison report?
For each candidate: recent sales of homes like yours in your area, sale-to-list and days-on-market context, what their fee includes (staging, photography, video, open houses, digital marketing), team structure and who you'd actually work with, communication cadence, references, and a written read on strengths and trade-offs. Metrics come with interpretation — a high sale-to-list ratio, for example, can reflect underpricing rather than skill.
Is a high sale-to-list price ratio proof of a great agent?
Not by itself. An agent can generate over-asking results by systematically pricing below market, and a low days-on-market number can mean a hot market rather than great execution. That's why the report pairs every statistic with context — the same discipline a good procurement process applies to any vendor claim.
Am I obligated to hire an agent you recommend?
Never. You independently evaluate and choose your representation, and you can stop the process at any point. Our role is to put better evidence in front of you; the decision is always yours.
What markets do you cover?
Any U.S. market where we can source and vet a qualified local partner. Focus markets: the San Francisco Bay Area and East Bay, San Jose and Silicon Valley, Marin County, Walnut Creek and Rossmoor, Napa Valley, Sonoma County, Lake Tahoe, Portland, Seattle, San Diego and North County (Oceanside, Encinitas), Newport Beach, Scottsdale, and Austin — driven by where Bay Area sellers and buyers most often move, buy second homes, or hold family property. Every service — sourcing, benchmarking, the Evaluation Report, and probate and estate selection — runs in every market listed.
I'm selling in the East Bay — can you help me?
Yes, but differently: Danville, Alamo, San Ramon, Walnut Creek, and the surrounding East Bay are my own practice, so I'd represent you directly rather than act as a neutral referee — which is also why the paid Evaluation Report isn't offered here. What you get instead: the same scorecard this service uses nationally, handed to you openly, so you can hold me and any other agent you interview to it. The East Bay page spells out exactly what I do and don't offer in my own market, including the dollars.
How does this work for a probate or estate sale?
Executors, trustees, and professional fiduciaries have a duty to select vendors defensibly. We run the selection as a documented process: probate-experienced candidates, the same normalized comparison, and a written record of how the listing agent was chosen — something you can put in the file and defend to beneficiaries or the court. See the Probate & Estates page for the full process.
Who pays you, and could that bias the recommendation?
On the referral path, the hired agent's brokerage pays Compass a referral fee at closing, out of the agent's side of the commission. The standard is fixed in writing before candidates are ever chosen — 25–30% depending on the market — and it is identical for every candidate on your match, so the fee cannot favor one candidate over another. On the paid-report path, you pay a flat fee and no referral is involved unless we separately introduce a new candidate. Both structures are disclosed in writing before we start.
Doesn't the referral fee come out of my sale? Does it raise my agent's rate?
Fair question — here's the honest mechanics. The referral fee is paid out of the hired agent's side of the commission: money the agent agrees to share with Compass for a vetted, ready-to-transact introduction. It is not added to your commission. You negotiate your agreement and rate directly with the agent you hire, exactly as you would if you'd found them yourself, and that written agreement is between you and them. Referral fees at this level are a standard client-acquisition cost agents already carry — marketing, lead programs, and portal fees routinely cost as much or more — which is why experienced agents accept them without repricing the client. Because every candidate carries the identical standard, no one can outbid anyone for the referral. And if the strongest agent for your home won't work on referral terms, we tell you that too — you can hire them directly, and the comparison is still yours.
How do I get started?
Use the Start Your Match form, call (650) 773-1578, or email [email protected]. First step is a 30–45 minute conversation about the property, the timeline, and what you need from an agent — no obligation, and you'll know by the end of the call whether the process is worth it for your situation.
How long does this take?
You'll hear from us within one business day of your intake — usually the same day. A typical match, from intake call to a vetted 2–3 candidate shortlist with the written comparison, runs about a week; complex assignments — estates, unusual property types, thin markets — can take longer, and we tell you up front if yours will. The Agent Evaluation Report on candidates you bring is delivered within three business days of having every agent's proposal in hand.
Do you help buyers too, or only sellers?
Both. The seller-side evaluation is our deepest specialty, but the same process works in reverse: buyers relocating to an unfamiliar market, purchasing a second home, or buying a specialized property — a permitted vacation rental, a condo with association complexity, a 55+ community, new construction — get candidates evaluated for that specific assignment. On the referral path there is no additional cost to you; the hired agent's brokerage pays a standard referral fee at closing, disclosed in writing.
What kinds of buyer situations benefit most from agent matching?
Situations where the transaction itself is unusual: buying where short-term-rental permits decide the property's value, condo purchases where the resale certificate matters more than the countertops, 55+ communities with co-op ownership structures, mountain or rural properties with wells and septic, and relocations where you have no local network to draw on. Our guides cover several of these — and in each one, the difference between a general agent and the right agent is measurable.
I'm a trustee or executor. How do I make the agent choice defensible?
Document it at decision time: criteria defined first, two or three qualified candidates compared on the same scorecard in writing, fee terms disclosed, a named monitor after listing, and dates throughout. That file is what reasonable care looks like on paper — the full checklist is in our guide on how a trustee should document hiring a listing agent, and the fiduciary picture is on the trustees & executors page.
My financial advisor or attorney recommended their Realtor. Now what?
Treat that name as a strong candidate, not a decision — put them on the same written comparison as one or two alternatives. The professional relationship survives a comparison; it may not survive a sloppy sale. Advisors who'd rather not put their name behind one agent's execution can point clients to the process itself — see the wealth advisors and estate attorneys pages.
Can agents pay to be recommended or to improve their evaluation?
No. Agents cannot pay for placement, ranking, or a better evaluation — there is nothing to buy. On the referral path the fee is fixed in writing before candidates are chosen and identical for every candidate, and on the flat-fee report we're paid the same regardless of whom you hire. The recommendation is not for sale.
Do you match buyers with builders or contractors?
No. We select and evaluate real estate representation only. For a general contractor: verify the license with the CSLB, get comparable bids, and consider an owner's representative. Our lane is the agent who represents you in the transaction — including the lot, spec, and new-construction assignment types.
Do you help with fire-lot or Palisades-area agent selection?
Yes — agent selection only. Fire-rebuild parcels, vacant lots, and specs are a distinct assignment with their own scorecard addendum: recent lot closings, land diligence, insurance bindability, builder-contract fluency, and registration discipline. Start at the lot & new-construction buyers page. We don't sell inventory, recommend builders, or take developer money for placement.
Who pays the buyer's agent on new construction?
Commonly the builder — developers selling specs often budget a buyer-broker fee (frequently 2–3%), which is why representation can cost the buyer nothing while still being worth choosing deliberately: a large co-broke is also an incentive worth putting in writing. See our guide on whether builder commissions bias what you're shown — and register your agent before your first visit.

Let's talk.

Straight answers, no pressure, no obligation. You'll hear back within one business day.

Call (650) 773-1578 [email protected]