5 Best Real Estate Referral Companies & Networks

Referral-generated real estate leads aren’t only cost-effective but tend to generate additional referrals, enhance your reputation, and build brand buzz.

While manual referral generation methods like organizing noteworthy events and nurturing and maintaining post-transaction relationships are effective, they take time.

Thankfully, real estate referral companies can expedite the process. These companies handle the legwork and provide real estate investment professionals with hot referrals ready for nurturing. We’ve curated a list of five top-tier real estate referral companies and networks to streamline your lead-generation efforts.

• Sold.com
• Market Leader
• Referral Exchange
• ReadyConnect Concierge
• ZillowFlex

Sold.com

Sold.com, a licensed real estate company in California, pairs home buyers and sellers with agents and realtors that best fit their needs. Established in 2018 by a trio of seasoned real estate investors, Sold.com claims a track record of over 75,000 seller-buyer-agent matches.

To get matched, home buyers and sellers sign up on the website, fill out a form detailing their needs, and receive a report suggesting an agent nearby. While the site is generally free for home buyers and sellers, a standard referral fee applies to the agent when the transaction closes.

So, how does Sold.com perform the pairings? It employs a proprietary recommendation engine that pulls and recommends the most suitable local agent for each buyer or seller based on MLS data and consumer reviews. The engine also considers the agent’s performance on Sold.com, rewarding efficient real estate professionals with more referral opportunities.

Sold.com also offers the Guaranteed Display Program, a paid-for program designed to enhance agent rankings on the platform. This program is an excellent way for new agents and realtors lacking extensive MLS data and reviews to gain visibility on Sold.com.

Sold.com is a valuable source for property buyers and is especially beneficial for wholesalers and house flippers with inventory to move. The platform also features a network of investors who buy homes for cash. These investors can write you a cash offer in about two days. As a real estate investor, you can either join this network to acquire investment properties or sell your inventory to the investors in it.

Beyond the services, the platform features comprehensive guides and resources that buyers and sellers can leverage to enhance their home-buying and selling experiences. Additionally, through its home services module, Sold.com boasts partnerships with mortgage lenders, insurance, solar and smart security, moving, and home warranty companies to help streamline the home buying and selling process.

Generally, Sold.com is among the top real estate referral companies around. However, note that besides the recommendation engine, there’s no other vetting or quality control process for agents registering on the platform.

Market Leader

Don’t want to compete for quality leads? Check out Market Leader. Based in Bellevue, Washington, the company provides a straightforward process; once you sign up and specify the Zip Code for your preferred leads, Market Leader sends you a predictable number of leads monthly. These leads go directly to your CRM, which the company provides to ensure users enjoy a seamless lead management experience. And you don’t just get leads; you also get detailed insights, including property details and listing timeframe, empowering you to create successful outreach programs.

MarketLeader also has a partnership with HouseValues.com, a home valuation website. This collaboration grants it access to prospective home sellers just as they evaluate property values. Leads captured from your website in your specified geographic area are promptly sent directly to you.

Additionally, Market Leader offers Lead Direct, a program that provides subscribers with customizable IDX website templates for lead generation. For those seeking even more leads, Market Leader provides Network Boost, another program where you can receive up to 30 exclusive leads monthly for an additional $300.

For in-depth training on real estate investing, Real Estate Skills offers extensive courses to get you ready to make your first investment! Attend our FREE training and gain insider knowledge, expert strategies, and essential skills to make the most of every real estate opportunity that comes your way!

Referral Exchange

Referral Exchange could be the referral company you need if you’ve got plenty of leads but not enough time to qualify them.

Referral Exchange is a tech-powered real estate platform and a subsidiary of Referral Exchange Inc., a San Francisco-based company established in 2005, operating across the USA and Canada.

So, why is it ideal for lead qualification? The platform has built-in lead scrubbing software that automatically reviews and cleans up lead lists in real time.

Applicants need a real estate license to tap into their real estate agent referral program. Additionally, they need to create a profile on Referral Exchange to showcase their details, contact information, and real estate achievements. Once qualified, they can sit back and wait for connections; even better, there are no upfront costs.

Referral Exchange uses both technology and human expertise to connect agents with referrals. The company boasts sophisticated data and customer support agents in all 50 states who do all the heavy lifting to ensure warm connections.

These partner agents use advanced lead verification engines to assess the legitimacy of leads. If confirmed, they directly call the lead to evaluate factors like property location, estimated value, intent, and preferences, ensuring agents are only paired with warm and actionable leads.

After this thorough step, the platform’s reps employ powerful algorithm-based software to find and match qualified leads with three of its top agents in their area. Note that the agent profiles set up during sign-up also serve as marketing tools, allowing leads to select and initiate contact with preferred agents. Referral Exchange agents will promptly notify you via text, phone, and email if a lead expresses interest in your profile.

Moreover, Referral Exchange accepts lead referrals from its agents and offers 15% of the sale price for each successful closing. So, if you have a list of leads that don’t align with your portfolio, you can always submit them to the platform for extra money. The platform also features a specialized 6 month-subscription-based program for agents called Prime. Subscribers get prioritized for quality referrals, customer support, and exclusive content.

Beyond referral services, Referral Exchange offers loan lending services to home buyers and sellers. Add in that it has a mobile app, and it has become one of the most convenient and comprehensive real estate referral companies around. So, what’s the caveat? Agents outside the Prime program need to compete for leads. Also, the overall costs are pretty hefty, especially if you’re on a budget.

ReadyConnect Concierge

ReadyConnect Concierge formerly known as OpCity is a leading real estate search engine for realtors under the umbrella of Realtor.com.

Through this program, ReadyConnect Concierge thoroughly screens every buyer and seller to ensure it connects agents with high-quality and, more importantly, motivated leads, usually those looking to sell or buy within six months. To ensure motivation, ReadyConnect Concierge evaluates buyer and seller leads based on the location, their preferred timeline, intent, and price. Once the lead is onboard, ReadyConnect Concierge markets them to its top-rated agents' network, and the agent who successfully claims them is introduced through a three-way call.

In addition to referrals, ReadyConnect Concierge offers a suite of lead-nurturing tools that can greatly streamline the start-to-closing process. These include automated follow-up tools like emails and texts, 2-way messaging, automated CloudCMA reports, website templates, CMA integration, and preset follow-up funnels for a smooth start to the closing process.

Realtor.com also features a comprehensive resource page with articles covering industry insights, marketing tips, and strategies that agents on the network can leverage to grow their practice. These resources are also useful to buyers and sellers on the ReadyConnectConcierge program.

Importantly, there are no upfront costs, ensuring agents don’t lose if a lead turns cold mid-process. ReadyConnect Concierge also offers a listing management feature, making it a particularly suitable platform for investors like wholesalers who need to sell an investment property.

ReadyConnect Concierge also offers an additional referral program—the Lead Accelerator. It works similarly to ReadyConnectConcierge, except it’s strictly designed for brokerages.

However, it’s worth noting that ReadyConnect Concierge's referrals aren’t exclusive. As noted, they’re often broadcast to all agents on the program, leading to high competition. Moreover, ReadyConnect Concierge doesn’t publicly disclose commission fees, citing fee variations based on broker level, technology, pre-screening requirements, purchasing manpower, and occasional testing of promotional referrals in specific markets.

Overall, ReadyConnect Concierge is an excellent option for anyone seeking the best referral companies.

ZillowFlex

Zillow is one of the largest real estate marketplaces around.

While its extensive user base alone is a good enough source of referrals, the platform offers specialized methods for real estate investors to generate referrals and leads. One such method is Zillow Flex.

Zillow Flex is an invite-only program offered to agents with years of experience and other real estate industry professionals who are part of the Zillow Premier Agent (another excellent specialized lead generation program).

The main goal of Zillow Flex is to connect home buyers and sellers with the best possible local realtors and agents for their needs.

When interested buyers or sellers confirm they’re ready to work with an agent, Zillow pairs them with an agent in the Flex program via a phone call. The assigned agent guides the seller or buyer throughout the process while keeping Zillow updated. Upon successful closing, the agent pays a success fee to Zillow, typically ranging from 20% to 35%, depending on the type of real estate transaction, amount, and zip code.

In essence, Zillow Flex works like the Zillow Premier Agent program, except that agents only pay a commission upon closing. There are no signup fees, and the program is entirely free for home sellers and buyers.

Zillow Flex is an excellent referral program for agents and professionals and a good source of property buyers and sellers for brokers and investors. It’s also an excellent marketing platform for real estate investors seeking exposure. Also, the fact that Zillow Flex professionals only pay for fees upon closing ensures participants get value for their money.

Read Also: Realtor vs. Real Estate Agent: Salaries, Differences, & Similarities

Final Thoughts Best Real Estate Referral Companies

Real estate referral companies provide a cost-effective yet efficient way to generate real estate leads for any real estate business. Some companies, for instance, Market Leader and OptCity, even offer additional lead management solutions to streamline your lead generation process.

Furthermore, the best referral companies don’t charge upfront fees, so you only pay for the value you’ve acquired.

Consider your priorities and explore the unique offerings each brings to the table to identify the best fit for your referral needs.

Also, sign up for our free real estate training course to uncover even more insightful investing tips and strategies.