Are commissions negotiable?

The way that real estate agents make money from brokering a deal to sell a home is through their commission. Essentially, a commission is a fee that the real estate agent receives following a property transaction. As it is the sole money that the real estate agent receives through a home sale, it is impossible to imagine that they would be willing to waive a commission. However, many home sellers often wonder, “Are commissions negotiable?” The answer to this is that legally, real estate commissions are negotiable. It may be a difficult subject to broach with real estate agents and their commission depends on a variety of issues. What the home seller requires from their real estate agent as well as the level of service that the real estate agent provide factors into the rate they charge for their commission. Additionally, real estate agents commissions are generally not flat rates but rather a percentage of the money that the home seller receives from selling their home.

This arrangement is advantageous to the home seller as it ensures that the motivation of the real estate agent is the same as the home seller: to receive the most amount of profit through the sale of a home. In most instances, real estate agents will charge between 4 and 6 percent of the final home sale price as their commission. This is for full service and many real estate agents do not offer home sellers the option for paying a fee for an individual service.

For home sellers, full service will mean that real estate agents will show the home during open houses and also for interested prospective homebuyers tours. Real estate agents will also perform the bulk of home selling negotiation and will look out for the home seller’s best interest by offering valuable, expert advice.

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