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More Real Estate Brokers Are Reducing Their 6% Fees
Real estate brokers are hungry for business and increasingly willing to cut commissions.
User Comments
Posted 11:29 AM EST July 22, 2007
Posted by: NYrealtor
The poster 'shuttlecr' is wrong. I don't know even one agent who has ever put their own home on the market and didn't offer a full commission. Often times agents will offer 3.5% or 4% on the buyer brokers side.
Posted 11:20 AM EST July 22, 2007
Posted by: NYrealtor
Ask any agent who was around last time the market dived (late 80s early 90s), and they are hard to find since so many agents are new trying to capitalize on the boom market, and you will know that fees go up in a down market. This is because the home stays on the market much longer and needs a lot more attention (marketing) which means much higher costs to have a listing.
Posted 11:20 AM EST July 22, 2007
Posted by: NYrealtor
I remember commissions of 8% to 10%. Only the new agents and brokers are willing to cut fees in a down market because they don't know they are driving themselves out of business by increasing their overhead and reducing their income. I'll still be here when they give up and retreat to their 9-5 desk jobs. I've seen it before. And, quite frankly, do sellers really want an agent who is so quick to cut their own income and take food off their own kids' plates?
Posted 11:20 AM EST July 22, 2007
Posted by: NYrealtor
If the agent won't protect their own money, how can a seller possibly kid themselves into believing the agent will protect the seller's money? They won't, they will do whatever they have to to achieve the quickest sale -- not the highest price. I want the highest price because it pays me more. Give me an agent any day that will fight for the highest price, not the quickest sale!
Posted 1:39 PM EST May 21, 2007
Posted by: djrealtor
One final comment - I've not once been told my commission was too high after a closing -but I have been told numerous times that 'I deserved every penny of it'. Just as any person is entitled to whatever payment they can justify for their services would be - I earn my paychecks - many of them - were not even close to being enough!
Posted 1:33 PM EST May 21, 2007
Posted by: djrealtor
Sorry - the comments are reverse order to how it was written due to the limitations imposed on the length of characters. Start from the first post I made and it's a story worth reading and most certainly worth considering next time you feel compelled to call agents low-lifes. (FYI-my job required an FBI background check - did yours sands1448?)
Posted 1:31 PM EST May 21, 2007
Posted by: djrealtor
OR....Do we average it out and charge whatever we and the public feel comfortable our individual services are worth (very few brokerages are key instruments in getting a buyer bought and/or a seller sold - it's the agent that does 90+% of the work - always)??? Now you get to make the choice we have to make everyday - based on real life demands - eat or starve - which would it be for you?
Posted 1:30 PM EST May 21, 2007
Posted by: djrealtor
IMAGINE doing all this work FOR FREE before you ever get paid for anything. So the real question is??? Do we lower our commissions for the one person who actually generates a check in the end (and we never know who they are because we can do everything right and the transaction still never closes) and charge everyone else a fee for every other detail we perform with them???
Posted 1:28 PM EST May 21, 2007
Posted by: djrealtor
Disloyalty is another issue regarding value. IMAGINE that you are self-employed, you must pay all your expenses (check the pumps), copies, faxes, internet, computers, laptops, cell phone, desk fees, brokerage splits, etc, NOW IMAGINE-you spent 30-60 hours working FOR FREE! NO PAYCHECK - NO MONEY FOR EVERYDAY EXPENSES... until one (out of 50) person you've been driving around, hand-holding, handling credit issues (the single most reason why people hire agents - FINANCING ISSUES) decides to close!
Posted 1:12 PM EST May 21, 2007
Posted by: djrealtor
Sellers, you should always use the agent who is listing your home as the buyer's agent for your next purchase, and make that issue a reason for a rebate on the next purchase, (I do not give sellers concessions on the listing - only on a closed purchased when used dually as a listing agent and as a buyers agent for their next purchase, the reason being that buyers are notoriously disloyal).
Posted 1:12 PM EST May 21, 2007
Posted by: djrealtor
Lowering commissions is not always about helping the buyer or seller to save a few dollars, I'm actually all for the consumer getting the best deal whenever they can. There are other concerns. One being, discrimination. If I lower my commission for him, but I don't lower it for her, I could be sued for discriminatory practices. Of course there's the issue of value. It's been noted, 'you get what you pay for'!
Posted 11:52 AM EST May 21, 2007
Posted by: rubyinn
I have been buying and selling my own investment real estate for over 40 years. Most of the time I use a real estate lawyer and a title company to close a deal for a lot less than a realtor would charge. Sometimes I use realtors (for property in difficult locations - islands for example that require boats etc) and the ones I use have been in the business a long time and are strong closers.
Posted 7:19 PM EST May 13, 2007
Posted by: vicbenz
Try to sell your home for a discounted fee in my market area where builders are offerring significantly higher commissions than realtors are getting from home listed in the MLS. Always remember 'IN LIFE, YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR'.
Posted 11:23 AM EST May 12, 2007
Posted by: shuttlecr
Agents do the same thing. They take their thirty thousand commission from that last property that flipped in 28 days and shop for the discount airline flight for the price...not for the younger & more inexperienced pilot compared to the old legacy carrier. Then they shop on line to get a discount on a flat panel TV rather than the full price at your nearest brick & mortar that comes with a knowledgeable salesman. Your margins are getting squeezed like the rest of the world.
Posted 3:18 PM EST May 07, 2007
Posted by: Jacob525
You can drive your car with your feet if you want to.... that doesn't make it a good idea! Most consumers dont realize that a good agent does more than just sign the listing, put it in the MLS, and hold open houses. If you look hard enough, you will get what you pay for!
Posted 3:18 PM EST May 07, 2007
Posted by: Jacob525
You can drive your car with your feet if you want to.... that doesn't make it a good idea! Most consumers dont realize that a good agent does more than just sign the listing, put it in the MLS, and hold open houses. If you look hard enough, you will get what you pay for!
Posted 3:16 PM EST May 07, 2007
Posted by: Jacob525
As a professional agent, i find this article a bit funny yet disturbing. The only reason i could ever imagine reducing my commission from a full 6% is if i didn't see the value i brought to the table. Granted there are alot of agents that aren't worth what they get paid, there are a few of us! I hate to see people say 'i would never us an agent!' Thats like saying you would never use a doctor for surgery, or an attorney for a law suit.
Posted 12:25 PM EST May 07, 2007
Posted by: willneeb
Atempting to renegotiate a contract, as suggested in the article, by demanding the brokerage cut their agreed commission after the agent has performed their duty and found a buyer is not only unethical it may be illegal. In my state about 70% of 'for sale by owner' homes wind up being sold through a brokerage eventually and 75% of homes sold without the protection of an agency wind up in court. You CAN do almost anything yourself, but its not always smart.
Posted 12:21 PM EST May 07, 2007
Posted by: donsuttonlbca
As a top Buyer Agent in Southern California, I NEVER show less than 3.0% commissioned properties in this hot Buyer's Market. Sellers who think they are saving money right now are actually costing themselves exposure to potential Buyers. If it is a short sale - offer 4%.As for sites like Zillow. They are so inaccurate. Zillow takes into consideration Single Family Residences AND Income Properties when coming up with values and that is simply wrong and is like comparing apples to Winnebagos.
Posted 10:51 AM EST May 07, 2007
Posted by: SANDS1448
Real estate agents rank one notch below used car salesmen. They love you when they want your listing and cry Market woes when they can't sell it. All business is predicated on negotiation. Only most agents think their exempt.A savy buyer who is working with an agent will always check Buy owner offers in the area. If you market your propery unemotionally, you will save a bundle.
Posted 9:25 AM EST May 07, 2007
Posted by: adamsteam
Many of my customers hate the internet. To quote one of my favorite investors, 'I have lived 60 years without the internet and I can live the next 60 without it too.' There will always be clients that require 'face time'. I have laughed, cried, and rejoiced with my customers. One last thing I would like to point out...who defined real estate as 'a house'? What about land? Who wants to tell the public about the hedge fund managers buying up the remaining land in Florida?
Posted 8:06 AM EST May 07, 2007
Posted by: Illean
Most of what I have read here is true. I have been in real estate for 15 years and there are alot of new real estate agents. True, there are many people who can buy and sell without the help of an agent, however experienced agents work for the people who don't have the knowledge, resources, and/or time to do the work themselves.
Posted 3:38 AM EST May 07, 2007
Posted by: ernienichols
Yes there will be less Realtors in 5 years but that has to do with thier marketing skills not there willingless to charge less.As far as buying through the internet, what happens when you purchase a place you found on the Internet and 3 months after you purchase it the plumbing goes out? Who's door are you going to knock on? I would just ask your agent to lower his fee's rather than go with out. Ask around for a name of an aggent that is known to do that with a good reputation Ask around!
Posted 7:50 AM EST May 03, 2007
Posted by: urtlking2jo
With sites like Zillow and county/city sales records online, pricing a home is not overly difficult. I'm confused by what value Realtors provide for their 4-6%? Sure, they know the system and customs, but it's not that difficult of a process (and most buyers find the homes they are interested in seeing without a Realtors help). I would bet that there will be a whole lot less Realtors in 5 years as the web based options to buy and sell a home mature. I know I will never use one.
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Look at the music business, completely changed from how it was 10 years ago, same with stocks, bonds, cars you name it..technology has changed how we buy and sell. There will still be agents but not as many and their commissions will fall.