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§ Private Profile · St. Louis, MO, USA
Technology platform matching home buyers & sellers with local agents for lower commissions, plus education & title services.
Founded in 2017 by Luke Babich and Ben Mizes, Clever Real Estate is a St. Louis, Missouri-based technology platform that matches home buyers and sellers with local agents at pre-negotiated commission rates. Backed by over $13 million in total funding from investors including Cultivation Capital, EssentVentures LLC, and Mike DelPrete, the company operates a nationwide network of 19,000 agents across all 50 states. The platform allows sellers to list properties for a 1.5% fee or a flat rate of $3,000, which has facilitated over $190 million in fee savings for consumers to date. Operating with a team of 30 employees, the firm was on track to process $750 million in lender transactions during 2023. Recently, the company expanded its operations to include Clever Title, a tech-forward title and escrow service launched on February 16, 2024.
Clever Real Estate has raised $16.5M across 5 funding rounds.
Clever Real Estate has raised $16.5M in total across 5 funding rounds.
Clever Real Estate has raised $16.5M across 5 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $2.0M Other Equity in May 2023.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 11, 2023 | $2M Venture Round | — | Mike Delprete, Cultivation Capital, Essentventures | Announced |
| May 1, 2023 | $2M Series U | — | Cultivation Capital, EVE Atlas, Framework Venture Partners, Mucker Capital, Newfund, TechSquare Labs, Essentventures, Mike Delprete | Announced |
| Nov 1, 2021 | $8M Series B | Cultivation Capital | Alpine Ventures, EVE Atlas, Framework Venture Partners, Goat Capital, Mucker Capital, Newfund, TechSquare Labs, Rayn ONG, Owen LEE | Announced |
| Jun 1, 2019 | $4M Series A | — | Cultivation Capital, EVE Atlas, Framework Venture Partners, Mucker Capital, Newfund, TechSquare Labs | Announced |
| Apr 1, 2018 | $500K Seed | — | Cultivation Capital, Newfund | Announced |
Clever Real Estate has raised $16.5M in total across 5 funding rounds.
Clever Real Estate's investors include Mike DelPrete, Cultivation Capital, EssentVentures, EVE Atlas, Framework Venture Partners, Mucker Capital, NewFund, TechSquare Labs, Alpine Ventures, Goat Capital, Rayn Ong, Owen Lee.
# Clever Real Estate: A Technology-Enabled Real Estate Platform
Clever Real Estate is a technology platform that connects homebuyers and sellers with vetted real estate agents while providing educational tools and concierge services to simplify the real estate transaction process.[2] Founded in 2017, the company operates a nationwide agent-matching network spanning all 50 states, enabling consumers to access discounted real estate services and save substantially on transaction fees.
The company's core value proposition centers on democratizing access to affordable real estate services.[1] Rather than building its own brokerage, Clever functions as a marketplace that matches customers with top-performing agents from major brokerages—including Century 21, Keller Williams, RE/MAX, eXp, and Coldwell Banker—who offer reduced commissions in exchange for customer referrals.[4] Since its inception, Clever has facilitated over $3 billion in annual real estate transactions and reported savings exceeding $160 million for consumers on realtor fees.[1][3]
Co-founders Ben Mizes and Luke Babich grew up on the same street in St. Louis and later began investing in real estate together after college.[2] Their hands-on experience navigating the housing market revealed inefficiencies and high costs that motivated them to create a solution. In 2017, they launched Clever Real Estate, combining their practical real estate knowledge with data-driven strategy to build a platform that would make home buying and selling more transparent and affordable.[2]
The company achieved early traction through its agent-matching model. By 2023, Clever had matched more than 95,000 customers with real estate agents, achieved record revenue, and crossed into profitability.[6] The platform now processes transactions for more than 10,000 homes annually and serves 5-10 million readers through its educational content and research tools.[3]
Clever exemplifies the "marketplace as disruptor" trend reshaping traditional service industries. By leveraging technology to reduce information asymmetry and transaction costs, the company addresses a fundamental pain point in real estate—the opacity and high fees that have long characterized agent-based transactions.
The timing has been favorable: rising consumer demand for transparency, the digitalization of real estate workflows, and growing acceptance of commission-based referral models have all accelerated Clever's growth. The company's expansion into adjacent services (title, escrow, lender tools) reflects a broader shift toward vertical integration within real estate technology, where platforms increasingly offer end-to-end solutions rather than single-point services.
Clever's influence extends beyond its direct customer base. By negotiating lower commissions at scale and demonstrating that agents can thrive on reduced fees, the company has pressured the broader real estate industry to reconsider traditional commission structures, influencing competitive dynamics across the sector.
Clever has successfully proven that technology-enabled agent matching can disrupt a traditionally fragmented industry. The company's path forward likely involves deepening its B2B relationships with mortgage servicers, expanding its service offerings (title, escrow, lending tools), and potentially exploring adjacent real estate verticals such as property management or investment platforms.
The broader real estate technology landscape continues to consolidate and evolve. Clever's ability to maintain its competitive edge will depend on sustaining agent quality, expanding its mortgage servicer partnerships, and continuing to innovate on user experience. As the company matures, its influence on industry commission standards and consumer expectations around transparency will likely persist, positioning it as a foundational player in real estate's ongoing digital transformation.