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.
This is an odd post.
Why would it be "funny" for me to point out uninformed input and to oppose repetitive puerile trolling and dissembling from an agenda only to stir trouble?
Shouldn't everyone who stands for fundamental integrity and informed opinion do the same?
Of course, I am more in the mode of ignoring trolls at this time.
"Hate" is never a productive emotion, and that point is supported by several posters here who are filled with Keyboard Courage, and by the lack of substance in most of their generic Copy/Paste posts.
I do appreciate your mention that I don't hesitate to take a stand for informed input and integrity, however. Thanks for noticing!
I accept results of studies that show 5%-5.2% rates as median, and can support them, anecdotally of course, with my own experiences.
Clearly, your experiences are also anecdotal, too, right? 8 agents. How many firms and which firms were the 8 agents with?
8 different firms?
Arguing over 6% vs 5.2% is rearranging the deck chairs. Let’s just say that depending on the market, it’s typically 5-6%, which is 4-5 percentage points too high or 400% to 500% too much.
In my neck of the woods the most common rate in 5%, split 50-50 between the listing and selling brokerage firms and then split between each respective brokerage and the agents who worked with the seller and buyer.
Far more listing brokerages are cutting their listing fee from 2.5% while the 2.5% co-op is solid.
But, that begs one to consider what actual quantifiable value such a brokerage firm truly brings to any specific transaction to justify the cost, and particularly when there are franchise and other junk fees associated.
Arguing over 6% vs 5.2% is rearranging the deck chairs. Let’s just say that depending on the market, it’s typically 5-6%, which is 4-5 percentage points too high or 400% to 500% too much.
Bud, unless the expenses and role of an agent here in the states decrease, that can't happen. Brokerages and agents have to have enough income to cover their dues and make a profit. 1% doesn't pay the bills.
This is an odd post.
Why would it be "funny" for me to point out uninformed input and to oppose repetitive puerile trolling and dissembling obviously stemming from an agenda only to stir trouble?
Shouldn't anyone who claims to value fundamental integrity and informed opinion react similarly?
Of course, I am more in the mode of ignoring trolls at this time.
"Hate" is never a productive emotion, and that point is supported by several posters here who are filled with Keyboard Courage, and by the lack of substance in most of their generic Copy/Paste posts.
I do appreciate your mention that I don't hesitate to take a stand for informed input and integrity, however. Thanks for noticing!
I accept results of studies that show 5%-5.2% rates as median, and can support them, anecdotally of course, with my own experiences.
Clearly, your experiences are also anecdotal, too, right? 8 agents. How many firms and which firms were the 8 agents with?
8 different firms?
The "funny" comment was more of a compliment to you, because you are one of the few that I've seen actually offer a lower commission.
I never denied my experience was anecdotal. I don't remember which firms, I think there were at least 5 different ones: several large national ones, one large local one and at least one independent.
The "funny" comment was more of a compliment to you, because you are one of the few that I've seen actually offer a lower commission.
I never denied my experience was anecdotal. I don't remember which firms, I think there were at least 5 different ones: several large national ones, one large local one and at least one independent.
Oh, well, thanks for the compliment!
:blush:
It is challenging to discuss a specific commission amount on specific houses.
Every property is unique, legally. Every owner is unique, too.
Build a new $450,000 house with me as your agent, and your fee to sell your existing house will not be the 4.8% rack rate that a seller who is not engaging me as a buyer's agent may pay. Throw in a builder's bonus to me, or a higher commission rate, and you'll see more flex, too.
And with two separate transactions, I may look to collect my fee more fully on the first one, rather than defer to the second one.
But, in discussion with other agents here on CD, I see some whose market median is below $200,000, and some whose market median is much higher. Mine tends to be in the $300,000's and above, with lower price properties ever being harder and harder to acquire.
As long as consumers prefer the low risk of the "Commission at Closing" model of agent compensation, folks at the lower end will need to guard their margins to stay in business with a reasonable level of service.
Bud, unless the expenses and role of an agent here in the states decrease, that can't happen. Brokerages and agents have to have enough income to cover their dues and make a profit. 1% doesn't pay the bills.
That's not the consumer's problem. Your "unless..." has to happen. Breaking up the buyer's agent system and making buyers pay directly for any "buying services" that they need or want would immediately cut sales commission costs in half (more than half in some cases). Competition and new models would force seller's agent commission down much closer to 1%. Reduce your costs. We had an agent here describing how he measures ceiling joists! Highly paid agents should not be measuring ceiling joists, pushing paper or doing other menial tasks. Oversee the operation, embrace technology, and build economies of scale for back office work. Those are just possible examples, it's not my problem to solve. People used to like when there were elevator attendants but it's just not sustainable as it's too high cost and many consumers, particularly young ones are going to rebel just like they don't want to use insurance agents to buy insurance. It's backward, too expensive, and its days are numbered.
Buyer's agent is the problem as it's far too expensive and there is insufficient choice for buyers and sellers in the matter. Sellers are "forced" to pay buyer's agent commissions for buyers and buyers are led to believe their buyer's agent is free so they sign up fast. Break down that racket and you can come a long way to revamping the system.
It is challenging to discuss a specific commission amount on specific houses.
Every property is unique, legally. Every owner is unique, too.
Build a new $450,000 house with me as your agent, and your fee to sell your existing house will not be the 4.8% rack rate that a seller who is not engaging me as a buyer's agent may pay. Throw in a builder's bonus to me, or a higher commission rate, and you'll see more flex, too.
And with two separate transactions, I may look to collect my fee more fully on the first one, rather than defer to the second one.
But, in discussion with other agents here on CD, I see some whose market median is below $200,000, and some whose market median is much higher. Mine tends to be in the $300,000's and above, with lower price properties ever being harder and harder to acquire.
As long as consumers prefer the low risk of the "Commission at Closing" model of agent compensation, folks at the lower end will need to guard their margins to stay in business with a reasonable level of service.
Consumers want simplicity. Reduce the price and reduce the nonsense. Keep it straightforward.
I don't want to hear about nonsense like building a 450k house with you as an agent so that you can collect sales commissions for me to build my home. And how that will make my sales commission less for selling my home or how old school nonsense like trying to get a builder who will give you a builder's bonus sales commission for building my home, etc. will further reduce your sales commissions on my home sale. Yuck. Icky. Old school.
Most of my work is in Wake County.
As stated many times here, 90% of resale listings in Wake County show a 2.4% commission to buyers agents....
Sounds like someone should be investigating this for price fixing. Just a coincidence that 90% of the market has exactly the same buyer's agent rate??? When the whole thing is supposed to be fully negotiable. Price fixing is bad for consumers and the authorities should be taking any appearance of it seriously.
Real estate transactions are too damn complicated. Too many crazy variables that come up before closing and require negotiations to work things out or walk away. No artificial intelligence can account for that or the unpredictable minds of human nature.
Houses are not like car, widgets, or anything else. Deeds, easements, rights of way, liens, HOA, access, encroachments, leases, minteral interests, taxes, personal property, covenants, special tax districs, water, sewer, septic, well, survey, insurance, utilities, historical, etc, etc.
Exactly. People who oversimplify for convenience risk missing details.
Real estate transactions are too damn complicated. Too many crazy variables that come up before closing and require negotiations to work things out or walk away. No artificial intelligence can account for that or the unpredictable minds of human nature.
Houses are not like car, widgets, or anything else. Deeds, easements, rights of way, liens, HOA, access, encroachments, leases, minteral interests, taxes, personal property, covenants, special tax districs, water, sewer, septic, well, survey, insurance, utilities, historical, etc, etc.
I agree that today most of the things you mention are not solved with AI. Maybe some day blockchain will standardize it all. Who knows.
But the list of things are not things that RE agents are qualified to handle, nor do they provide services with accountability around these things. Happy to be challenged.
Your list:
Deeds, easements, rights of way, liens, HOA, access, encroachments, leases, minteral interests, taxes, personal property, covenants, special tax districs, water, sewer, septic, well, survey, insurance, utilities, historical, etc, etc
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.
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.
