A real estate commission is the fee paid by the Seller to the listing agent, who in turn shares it with the Buyer's agent. If the same agency represents both seller and buyer (known as "dual agency"), then the listing agency keeps the whole fee.
To avoid violations of Federal anti-trust regulations that deal with price-fixing, the listing agreement that a seller signs contains the following bold-print language:
*Notice: The amount or rate of real estate commissions is not fixed by law. They are set by each Broker individually and may be negotiable between Seller and Broker.
The operative words in the above line is "may be negotiable." Most brokers say: "I charge 6%. Take it our leave it." If you know to ask and are willing to push, some agents will reduce their fee to 5%.
Our view is different. You don't have to twist our arm to get a more reasonable fee. Realty Advocates charges the lowest commission that does not compromise the level of service needed to generate the highest possible sales price. Our fee is typically between 3 and 4.5%.
A tactic used by some agents to justify their higher fee is to claim that if you pay less in commission, you will get substandard service, which in turn could lead to a lower sales price. Nothing can be further from the truth.
Many real estate companies have to spend your commission on: large and fancy offices, franchise fees, brand advertising on national TV and print media (the generic agent standing in front of the generic house), in addition to paying executive perks and upkeep at the corporate headquarters in another state. What does this have to do with you and your house?
Realty Advocates doesn't have to pay any of these extra costs, so we can — and do — put more money towards the tasks that matters most to you: promoting and selling your house! And we charge thousands of dollars less in commissions than most other Realtors. The bottom line benefit to you is thousands of extra dollars in your pocket.
| Sale Price | 6% Commission | Our 4.5% | 4%* | 3%* | Extra $$ in your pocket |
| $500.000 | $30,000 | $22,500 | $20,000 | $7,500—$10,000 | |
| $800,000 | $48,000 | $36,000 | $32,000 | $12,000—$16,000 | |
| $1,500,000 | $90,000 | $67,500 | $60,000 | $45,000 | $22,500—$45,000 |
| $2,000,000 | $120,000 | n/a | $80,000 | $60,000 | $40,000—$60,000 |
*When we represent both buyer and seller in the transaction, we reduce the commission to either 4% or 3%, depending on the sale price. |
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Here's what our clients say about the value of working with Realty Advocates.