Negotiate Real Estate Commission?
 

Hello,

I would be interested in hearing advice from those on the forum who have sold their property in a hot market like this and successfully negotiated a lower commission.

How much lower was the agreed upon commission? I believe it's common for 6%?

Possibly interested in selling island home soon and gathering info.

Thanks in advance!

There are tips and tricks.
5% can be the starting point.

And it can get lower for lakefront property if one is creative in the final sale price.

Shop around...we used Redfin and they were great...2.5% is what we paid.

True. Sold my last two homes at 3.5% and 4%. It does need to be a property that is priced correctly for a quick sale.

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When that negotiated commission gets negotiated down below 5% co-broke, or 2.5%/individual broker ..... their level of service goes from full service down to NO service.

And, that's the way it is.

It pains me to say this but I agree with FLL. :look:

Realtors are showing property to make a commission. When they have choices it is in their best interest to show the properties that will pay them the highest amount. Sometimes negotiating a lower commission will only hurt the seller by reducing the number of showings.

That may be more accurate in a buyers market than now. The lack of listings has led to realtors showing potential buyers everything in their buyers price range because there is so little for sale.

5% is pretty common on the seacoast, however I have seen the lakes region agents tend to push for a bit higher. In this hot market I would definitely negotiate it down, especially since a fairly priced property these days will not last long. They don't have to work hard for it.

I wouldn't pick an agent just based off that. I mean if a really good agent could get you 3% more would it be worth losing that 3% to an agent who couldn't get you that just to save 1% on their commission?

As most of you know, the apps like Zillow and others have most if not all the property for sale in the area. If a agent is holding back showing you a property due to its lower commission fee. Walk away. That agent is a thief and not working in your best interest.


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I got 4%.

I called the realtor on the sign on the house for sale down the street from mine.
He asked if he was my first call, I said yes and he said sign me now and I'll do 4%, have an open house tomorrow with buyers I have queued up, and should have it sold in under a week. That was a Friday, the house sold on Sunday after the bidding was over. 20+ offers with no conditions and 12% over ask.

4% for what to him was a few hours work is a pretty good deal, and should be a workable # for anyone, especially as everything is still selling within days.

It's more than that though. What is it worth to have a deal go smooth from start to finish?

Any agent even the most incompetent one can sell a property in this market. The value of getting a good agent and the fees paid for one comes in where it is marketed to get the best results and buyers are scrutinized so the best offer is taken, mind you may not always the highest offer, to secure a clean and timely drama free transaction.

Similar story here. Went with a realtor that I knew personally. Negotiated 4%. Put my late brothers house on the market on a Wednesday. She showed the house to nearly 60 different groups by Friday afternoon. Numerous offers over asking price. Under agreement Saturday afternoon. This was on the North Shore of Boston. Worth every penny.....

What price range and which island? With the way things are selling a well placed post here or on the various FB Winni pages might have it sold without an agent pretty quick!

You want them to work... so I usually do 5% if there is a co-broke, 4% if not. With the lack of inventory out there now, you have the leverage as the seller so you might do better.

Like everything Realtor commission is negotiable.... As others have noted it can have effects on how hard your realtor works for you.

So other things to think about. Is your realtor willing to sacrifice some of there commission to get a sale over the edge... If they are contracted for 6% they may be willing to drop to 5% or even 4% to get a deal to go through. However if they are contracted to 4% the likely hood that they would do that is not as likely.

Personally in this day and age, I would first try and market the place myself and simply work with a real estate attorney to do the closing.