How an 80% Commission Refund Model Is Upending Traditional Real Estate Pricing

Written by:

Rudi Davis

Date:

17 Nov 2025

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In the competitive world of residential real estate, Keypr has introduced a new approach to commission costs that are often seen as untouchable. In a recent interview, John Asher, CEO of Keypr, discussed how the company is addressing one of the industry’s most established pricing structures.

“Keypr is our solution to update how to buy a home. There have been so many self-directed trends in every other industry, and real estate has not been able to present itself with a viable option,” said Asher, who moved from building institutional investment platforms to consumer-focused real estate technology.

Keypr operates in Ontario’s residential market, aiming to empower self-directed home buyers through technology and improved processes.

According to Asher, traditional commission structures remain a significant obstacle for today’s buyers. “At the end of the day, Keypr offers an 80% cooperating commission refund back to individuals if they’re ready to do their own self-directing of real estate. And we provide real estate services exactly where you need them.”

This issue is especially relevant for buyers who are capable of searching for properties on their own but still require professional support at key points in the transaction.

Asher outlined Keypr’s strategy for unbundling traditional realtor services, emphasizing a model built on specialization and consumer autonomy. The company relies on realtors who focus exclusively on negotiation, handling dozens of deals each week and building deep expertise through repetition. Asher compares the approach to an assembly line, where professionals concentrate on a single task to deliver higher-quality outcomes. Keypr also supports self-directed buyers, arguing that most consumers can competently search for homes on platforms like Zillow or realtor.ca without needing an agent to guide every step.

Keypr’s platform uses real-time market analytics and AI tools. “We have painstakingly created our own real time market analytics, so not just relying on board produced reports of what has happened in the past month,” Asher said.

The company’s platform employs AI agents to answer common questions with high satisfaction rates and coordinates transaction resources through automation.

For buyers exploring alternatives to traditional real estate services, Asher shared practical advice: “People are taking it upon themselves that they want to take control of their purchasing and people are very skeptical around where they actually get advice. Self directed wealth management is not a new thing. It’s been going on now for decades, and people are investing millions of their own dollars.”

He stressed that buyers still receive professional support where it matters most, rather than throughout every stage of the process.

Looking forward, Asher said Keypr plans to expand beyond Ontario. “We’d like to be in Alberta. We’d love to be in the US. This is not something that is unique to the Ontario marketplace, buying a home is North American wide, and what we see is behaviors and needs and wants of Americans are the exact same as Canadians,” he said.