Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Real Estate
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 09-05-2007, 10:58 AM
bfa bfa started this thread
 
Location: Tampa, Florida
80 posts, read 457,320 times
Reputation: 40

Advertisements

Just a general question for the masses:

Why are real estate commissions here in the USA so much higher than Europe? For example, Britain's real estate commissions are typically around 3%, for both sides of the transaction!

As a Realtor, I appreciate the extra cash, and earn it in my opinion, but I do wonder why there is a glaring difference, and with the average commission in the US now down to about 5.5% or so, I wonder if that trend will continue downward. I assume it probably will.

Thanks all! Welcome your comments!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 09-05-2007, 12:49 PM
 
Location: Just south of Denver since 1989
11,813 posts, read 34,270,988 times
Reputation: 8930
There is no MLS and no sharing of the commission. Buyers are not represented. As a buyer you go to many brokerages to see what they have, and if you don't see what you like, you go to the next broker....

Although their system has worked for hundreds of years...I like our system better.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-05-2007, 12:52 PM
 
Location: Pinal County, Arizona
25,100 posts, read 39,119,026 times
Reputation: 4937
Quote:
Originally Posted by bfa View Post
As a Realtor, I appreciate the extra cash, and earn it in my opinion, but I do wonder why there is a glaring difference, and with the average commission in the US now down to about 5.5% or so, I wonder if that trend will continue downward.
I don't know where you get your informatino that the "average commission in the United States is ....."

As a broker, and real estate licensee for 40 years, I know of NO WHERE that accumulates such information. AND, as a broker, I can tell you that I see commissions ALL OVER THE BOARDS! -

So, perhaps you need to review your "information source"
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-05-2007, 01:29 PM
 
Location: Gainesville, VA
566 posts, read 2,975,412 times
Reputation: 152
I have also heard the 5.5% average thrown around. I know that in my office, 5.5% is pretty accurate. Here's an intersting article that I found that discusses why there is a difference b/w the US and UK and why you really can't compare them "apples to apples".
NAR: International Commission Comparison Misleading (http://www.realtor.org/government_affairs/competition/international_commission_comparison_misleading.htm l - broken link)
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-05-2007, 02:00 PM
bfa bfa started this thread
 
Location: Tampa, Florida
80 posts, read 457,320 times
Reputation: 40
Quote:
Originally Posted by Greatday View Post
I don't know where you get your informatino that the "average commission in the United States is ....."

As a broker, and real estate licensee for 40 years, I know of NO WHERE that accumulates such information. AND, as a broker, I can tell you that I see commissions ALL OVER THE BOARDS! -

So, perhaps you need to review your "information source"
My information as to 'average commission' across the US came from the NAR, as well as the Department of Justice. It came out when the DOJ was investigating the NAR for price fixing and anti-competition to discount brokers.

I did review my source, thank you very much.

Besides, that wasn't really the point of the posting; the point was, commissions in the US are much higher than Europe.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-05-2007, 02:12 PM
bfa bfa started this thread
 
Location: Tampa, Florida
80 posts, read 457,320 times
Reputation: 40
Quote:
Originally Posted by DavidS827 View Post
I have also heard the 5.5% average thrown around. I know that in my office, 5.5% is pretty accurate. Here's an intersting article that I found that discusses why there is a difference b/w the US and UK and why you really can't compare them "apples to apples".
NAR: International Commission Comparison Misleading (http://www.realtor.org/government_affairs/competition/international_commission_comparison_misleading.htm l - broken link)
Thanks for that article, David. It brings out some interesting points. I do think it's probably slanted our way, as it is written by the NAR. Thanks for your input!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-05-2007, 03:18 PM
 
Location: NW Las Vegas - Lone Mountain
15,756 posts, read 38,052,916 times
Reputation: 2661
Last average commission number I remeber was 5.2% up from 5.1% the prior year. Generally commission rise in buyers markets....fall in seller's.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-06-2007, 01:08 PM
 
1,389 posts, read 6,282,998 times
Reputation: 300
I donot understand why Real Estate agents donot tell their clients that their fees are not standard.
A Real Estate agent can charge up to 6% so their are no standard or set fees.
When I have agents list my home, I always pay 3.5% total.
1% goes to the listing agent
2.5% goes to the buyers agent.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-06-2007, 01:28 PM
 
Location: NW Las Vegas - Lone Mountain
15,756 posts, read 38,052,916 times
Reputation: 2661
Quote:
Originally Posted by lscalder View Post
I donot understand why Real Estate agents donot tell their clients that their fees are not standard.
A Real Estate agent can charge up to 6% so their are no standard or set fees.
When I have agents list my home, I always pay 3.5% total.
1% goes to the listing agent
2.5% goes to the buyers agent.
Of course...that is your right. You will not get a competent listing agent in our market and your house will go unsold likely forever. But you will have saved a lot of money on the commission.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-06-2007, 02:32 PM
 
Location: Bloomington IN
8,590 posts, read 12,227,293 times
Reputation: 24241
One of my previous clients was from England. On our house hunting drives, he explained a bit to me how real estate differs in the UK. From his perspective, we do far more work and provide more service here than agents in the UK. (not a slam towards those international agents. This was his perspective as a buyer and seller on both sides of the ocean.) Attorneys handle many of the details, including inspections, etc. in the UK.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Real Estate

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top