Realtors in Tyler

Anyone acting as a real estate broker or sales agent in Texas needs a TREC license. A sales agent must work for a licensed broker, who is responsible for all of the agent's brokerage activity. TREC's License Holder Lookup shows whether the license is active, any disciplinary action, the agent's education and, for sales agents, the sponsoring broker.

Getting there takes real work: a sales agent applicant completes 180 classroom hours, a background check and the state exam, and a broker needs at least four years of active licensed experience within the prior 60 months. Ask how long the agent has held the license and which broker stands behind them.

Forms a Tyler agent must give you

• The Information About Brokerage Services notice, at the first substantive talk about a specific property. The current form is IABS 1-2, effective January 1, 2026, and agents must link it on their website homepage.
• TREC's Consumer Protection Notice, currently CN 1-5, effective September 1, 2023.
• For a resale home, TREC's One to Four Family Residential Contract, form 20-19, effective July 1, 2026.

Agents must use TREC's promulgated forms and may add only factual matters or business details. Every license holder owes the client a fiduciary duty. The law puts your interests above all others, the agent's own included.

Commissions are set by agreement with each professional, outside TREC's rules, and the 2026 buyer agreement must state the broker's pay in writing. If you only want to see a house or two, a broker may show homes without representing you under a non-exclusive showing agreement of no more than 14 days.

For context on prices, the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M put the statewide median at $339,000 in July 2026, unchanged from a year earlier. That's a Texas figure, so ask your agent for Tyler numbers. Texas appraisal districts describe Texas as a non-disclosure state, where sale prices aren't reported to them; your agent's comparable sales are the practical way to judge a Tyler price.

The option period on a Tyler offer

Under form 20-19, you pay an option fee for the right to walk away within the negotiated days. Deliver the earnest money and option fee to the escrow agent within 3 days of the effective date. Terminate in time and the earnest money comes back, though the option fee doesn't; close and the fee is credited to the price.

Texas has no state property tax. The Smith County Appraisal District values Tyler homes as of January 1, and local governments set the rates. SCAD's protest page says to protest in writing within 30 days of the date on your Notice of Appraised Value; the state rule is May 15 or 30 days after the notice, whichever is later. You can ask for an informal review in person first, and if staff find an error the appraiser corrects it on the spot.

• Under Tax Code amendments effective November 4, 2025, school districts must give a $140,000 residence homestead exemption.
• Owners 65 or older or disabled get an extra $60,000 school exemption, under the same November 4, 2025 amendments.
• Apply at SCAD, generally before May 1. Tax bills are generally due by January 31, with penalty and interest from February 1.

Exemption amounts and deadlines change with the law, so confirm the current figures with SCAD, and confirm contract and tax questions with a licensed Texas real estate broker or tax adviser.

The Texas buying guide is on our real estate hub. Agents in Longview are another option, and our Tyler hub covers moving-day services such as movers.