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6% is generally the standard in my area. But this is a question the seller needs to ask when interviewing agents to determine who gets the listing. Some will do more, some will do less than others.
A house on my street was recently listed. I've been keeping an eye on it because it's a direct comp to my house. The "Coming Soon" sign has been in the front yard for two weeks. Finally, I was able to view the listing yesterday. The photos are terrible. "Coming Soon" for two weeks and these are the photos that are used? Some even have the MRIS 2007 watermark on them - low resolution pictures from 11-years ago? Note to self: Don't list my home with that realtor.
When I was house shopping when looking at the listings lots of crappy smartphone pics and horrible descriptions. And these houses weren’t cheap. 500,000 and up. If any agent listed my house in that manner I would fire them on the spot. But then I interview pretty in depth and I check out their current listings, how many listings vs closing and list price vs sale price.
Last thing you want is some agent promising you millions on a quick sale and you end up with thousands a year later because he’s a loser pos and doesn’t know a damn thing about selling.
I had one house I was selling a while back and the agent said I’ll put it on the MLS. Yeah ok and ... that was his whole plan of attack. No mailers or realtor only showings. 650,000 dollar sale and his tactic was I’ll sit back and collect my commission. Yeah no thanks. Decided to keep the house instead.
There are some good agents out there. There are a lot more bad agents unfortunately.
It doesn't add up to 7% unless you agree to pay 7%. Shop around, you may find a better rate (and consider not just the rate but the level of service).
The big question, though: what is your price range? It's not unusual to see higher commissions on lower-priced houses. The worst commission rate I've ever seen was on the sale of a $10,000 house. Of course, the commission was stated as a flat rate in that instance.
When I sold not long ago it was easy to get 5% from the major brokerage in town.
But watch out for added fees (had to cross one out).
I can see it might run higher on a low-priced property.
We paid 5% to sell in 2006 and 6% when we sold in 2016. 6% is the norm in the Chicagoland area, but again that’s the norm not the exception!
OP, you need to first find out what other realtors in the area are asking and then ask your realtor what she will be doing to justify that percentage. If nothing special and the rest of the realtors are 5-6% then you might want to go with someone else I’d ask her to lower her commission to match the others.
I also suggest looking at their stats. How many homes have they sold in the area the last few years. And ask friends snd family who they have used. These are usually better outcomes than just picking someone out of the internet! We found our realtor after going to an open house. The agent was very informative and I liked her stats! She also paid for a stager out of her 6% commission.
my question is , what does a real estate agent do to ask 7% commission on the sale of your home?
yes they list it on a web site, but I feel that you either like a house or you don't ,the house is in a good school system or it isn't , you like the neighborhood or you don't .
how does this add up to 7%?
Where do you live?
In CT. it is only 4% usually maybe 5% sometimes???
You can try listing on Zillow yourself, but once you price it that's it you can only come down in price so better to start a little higher.
True story, I sold a house once for $20,000 more than the price the Realtors told me to list it for in their market analysis but I did have to wait for my price. I put it on and off several times. Best time to go on is now but then OFF market by end of June if not sold in most areas due to summer timing and moving for kids / school it won't sell. Then you need to take it off the market. Houses that sit going into the fall / holidays are subject to low-balling and lower prices.
Not only did I get the $20,000 more in price but I didn't have to pay the commission.
Last edited by SailCT; 05-03-2018 at 05:58 AM..
Reason: typos
Listing agents do more than simply put the house up on the MLS. They help sellers determine a price, help negotiate offers and inspections, etc. When I worked as an agent there was a lot of behind the scenes things I did for sellers when we had an offer. They never knew I was doing these things until I informed them of the progress as we moved to closing. If they hadn't been done, the sale would not happen. These things included following up with the buyer's agent on the financing, dealing with the title company, being a problem solver and being proactive to head off any potential problems.
As in any job, knowledge plays a role. It's like going to a doctor for an ear infection. You might see the doctor for 5-10 minutes and get a prescription. You'll get billed $100 for those 5-10 minutes. You're not paying for the time. You're paying for the expertise and other expenses the doctor has. You're paying for his office staff to schedule appointments and deal with insurance company. You're paying for the record keeping and on and on.
I beg to differ. An agent doesn't pay his marketing staff or have to pay the other employees who are really doing the data mining. The agent is the negotiator and usually it's to negotiate his/her commision. Of course the agent doesn't want to see a lower price offer...so it's unbeneficial to even negotiate.
My aunt worked straight commission . Getting 15k for a two hour on the clock transaction sounds sweet! Her commission was 2% since it's 4% total. 2 to seller agent 2 to buying agent.
She did though have to keep up her license thru education courses.
my question is , what does a real estate agent do to ask 7% commission on the sale of your home?
yes they list it on a web site, but I feel that you either like a house or you don't ,the house is in a good school system or it isn't , you like the neighborhood or you don't .
how does this add up to 7%?
Refer to the link attached, then negotiate accordingly. You are in the driver's seat, and have choices.
I had one house I was selling a while back and the agent said I’ll put it on the MLS. Yeah ok and ... that was his whole plan of attack. No mailers or realtor only showings. 650,000 dollar sale and his tactic was I’ll sit back and collect my commission. Yeah no thanks. Decided to keep the house instead.
This reminds me of one time I was really hungry and drove to my favorite lunch spot several miles up the coast. Sat down and went to order and noticed they had jacked up the price of my favorite, the grilled cobia sandwich. I asked what was different about the sandwich other than the price. Nothing; same sandwich but $1.50 higher. I walked out and drove home hungry but not ripped off. I showed them.
I beg to differ. An agent doesn't pay his marketing staff or have to pay the other employees who are really doing the data mining. The agent is the negotiator and usually it's to negotiate his/her commision. Of course the agent doesn't want to see a lower price offer...so it's unbeneficial to even negotiate.
My aunt worked straight commission . Getting 15k for a two hour on the clock transaction sounds sweet! Her commission was 2% since it's 4% total. 2 to seller agent 2 to buying agent.
She did though have to keep up her license thru education courses.
It's an incorrect assumption that the full 2%, 3% (or whatever) commission split goes to the agent. Your aunt's brokerage received the 2%. They then took their cut, and passed the remainder to your aunt.
Different companies have different commission/pay scales. My sister is with a nationally known brokerage. They offered her two options 1.) Pay a flat fee each month and they take a smaller percentage of each commission. 2.) No flat fee, and they take a significantly larger cut of her commissions.
My sister chose option 1, and she also pays the advertising fees for her listings, she pays for her signs, and she pays for her business cards.
While my sister hangs her license with this brokerage, she's essentially self-employed and works out of her home. She's a full service realtor - she goes to the courthouse to view the plat of the property, she does the CMA, presents that information and advises her clients on pricing, she arranges for photos to be taken, she collects all the data including measurements and inputs that data into the MLS, she decides which properties are advertised on which platforms, she has open houses, she conducts showings, she negotiates in the best interest of her client, she meets the various inspectors to let them in the houses, she's in contact in with each of her clients at least on a weekly basis even if there is nothing new to report. And I'm certain there are other minute things she does that I'm just not aware of.
My sister has worked evenings, weekends, holidays, and while she's on vacation. So while she makes pretty good money, she works her ass off for it. Having been an agent for almost 25+ years, she's also gone through droughts where she made no money and lived off savings.
Because of the high level of service and attention she provides, she estimates 95% of her clients are referred from past clients or are repeat clients. That alone is a reason to negotiate for her clients and not for the commission (not to mention she is ethically and contractually bound to work in the best interest of her client). A happy, satisfied client will recommend their agent to friends, family, and co-workers. We bought our house 8 years ago, and I still recommend the agent we used.
Your aunt may have received a premium amount of money for just two hours of work and low level service, but I beg to differ that this is true for all agents. Not all agents just sit back and watch the money flow in.
As with any industry, you have good ones and bad ones. It's up to the buyers and sellers to do their due diligence in selecting a good one.
In my part of northern Ohio the commission is 7% everywhere, not subject to negotiation, since at least the 1970's.
Of course in my area a nice 2000 sf house is between 100k - 150k, and for 500k you can buy an estate that would cost millions on the coasts
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Where is this?
