# real estate agents commision rates ?



## Paul77 (Jan 22, 2015)

how should one evaluate a fair commission rate before hiring an agent to sell a property?


----------



## Just a Guy (Mar 27, 2012)

Pay as little as you can to the selling agent...as to the buying agent, it's usually recommended that you pay the full amount if you want people to show it...you may get away with a little less however.


----------



## Paul77 (Jan 22, 2015)

what are the going rates?


----------



## lb71 (Apr 3, 2009)

Where do you live? In the Toronto area, it is generally 2.5% for each, plus HST. You can generally negotiate with your selling agent. Some will offer scales based on the services provided. For example, the full 2.5% got you the entire marketing package, while going down to 1.5% will be just the listing. Some will drop the listing comp if you use them on the buying side. They still do incur expenses trying to sell your place. You can offer to cover the costs of marketing material etc, and then negotiate a low rate.


----------



## Paul77 (Jan 22, 2015)

lb71 said:


> Where do you live? In the Toronto area, it is generally 2.5% for each, plus HST. You can generally negotiate with your selling agent. Some will offer scales based on the services provided. For example, the full 2.5% got you the entire marketing package, while going down to 1.5% will be just the listing. Some will drop the listing comp if you use them on the buying side. They still do incur expenses trying to sell your place. You can offer to cover the costs of marketing material etc, and then negotiate a low rate.


2.5% ?? where do I sign up. That seems extremely low. 

I'm in Montreal, well, just off the island. I've read that 5% is the standard.


----------



## crazyjackcsa (Aug 8, 2010)

That's 2.5% each which equals a total of 5%. That's pretty much the standard rate across the country.


----------



## MoreMiles (Apr 20, 2011)

Paul77 said:


> what are the going rates?


You can find 1% if you try. 
http://www.onepercentrealty.com

I am not sure about their quality or agent seriousness though. They charge so different from other agents.


----------



## Mechanic (Oct 29, 2013)

Depends on the value of the house. $500,000 house, should be able to negotiate 2%, that would be $10,000. I could see the rate being higher on lower priced houses. Some of the rates I have been quoted are ridiculous, they try and charge the price of a new car to sell your property. Just like any other business, lots of hungry agents and some are always willing to negotiate. There are also some unscrupulous agents out there. My son wanted to see a house that had a for sale sign on and his agent said it was sold, turned out it wasn't sold but there was low commission for the agent........phoned the listed agent on the sign out of curiosity and hey presto....fired !!!! If i was buying, I would never sign one of those exclusive deals with the agent, just in case.


----------



## valuemortgage (Mar 4, 2015)

TONS of options at 1%, even from Remax and Century 21 agents. I sold my last 2 properties at 1%.


----------



## Newby1983 (Apr 9, 2015)

Don't forget the HST on top of commissions (13%). 

I sold my last house with Comfree and it worked out great. Lot's of BS realtors calling but I sold in 10 days at full asking price...$20,000 more than suggested by the two agents I interviewed before listing it.


----------



## ohsmarketing (Mar 24, 2015)

Commissions are negotiable between listing agents and their clients. Some brokerages offer commission discounts for sellers, but a typical commission is 6% of the sales price.


----------



## nobleea (Oct 11, 2013)

If we sell our house FSBO, I'm going to pay out a commission if an agent brings a buyer, but set it something like 0% for the first 400K and 6% over that. Or even crazier like 0% for the first 500K and 20% over and above that.


----------



## IFITSTOBEITSUP2ME (Mar 6, 2015)

Just saying and you and all of us must do how we see fit but .............

If you want to create a successful sale on time, dollars and least hassle, you might want to seriously consider offering what would be deemed a competitive wage to a buyers agent at minimum, especially when today most serious buyers are working with a realtor under a buyer contract that states they will have to pay any shortfall beneath what is stated on that contract which is typically what is the most commonly seen offerings on listings. 

As for the listing side, are you more concerned with saving a potential $5,000 on commissions today, that you may never have to pay if they don't perform, or losing $10,000, $20,000 or more going with a possible realtor that might not be as strong a negotiator at the time of an offer if they weren't strong enough at the front end to protect their commissions? Just saying there's different ways to look at things not just one way.

I always find it quite amusing the way some folks talk quite derogatory about commissioned sales people (commissions is their wage just as you get a wage working in your field = would you work as hard for half your wages?), and admittedly there are some bad apples in all industries, but yet rarely do you ever here mentioned about for example the dentist that oversold you treatments or reference to relationships with Drs and drug companies and so on and so forth, how much you paid through the nose for physiotherapy or a Psychiatrist, Podiatrist etc. Isn't it interesting how we react depending on our nature/personality? 

Would you go with the heart surgeon that you were able to negotiate down by 50% or more from the well known top surgeon? Ironically the 50% cheaper one might actually have his patients live longer but how do you know that? Just saying, sometimes maybe we should all put someone else's shoes on and see how they would fit.

Generally speaking, I've typically found in all aspects of life, when I pay what's deemed a "fair price" for something, I get a much better result, market driven dependant at the time of course. I'm not comfortable however paying full rate for something that I know without a shadow of a doubt I can handle myself. I change the oil in our vehicles and other small maintenance, but I wouldn't do a full engine rebuild. 

Our old realtor in Fla has listed our property on the MLS for a flat $200 for us rather than having us go to Brokerlessmls for that rate. He asked if he could put up his own sign to try and pick up a buyer for himself and was totally open and honest with us to which we absolutely had no problem = Win-Win. We will deal direct for showings, have provided photos, measurements, description etc etc, but ........... we know when an offer comes in he will because it's his nature, advise us on the offer to protect us beyond what we might be conscious of being USA based. In turn without his current knowledge we will make sure we pay him gladly a few thousand dollars, albeit not a full listing side commission that would equate to over $27K on that specific property.

Like I said, sometimes we all need to consider different angles and what one persons perceived value is won't be the same for another.


----------



## raymond07 (May 13, 2015)

*commission rates*

I find that nowadays one of the best ways to find an agent who accepts a lower commission rate is though services like http://realtorfinder.com or https://agentpronto.com... They know many agents and if you ask for one in your area that can provide a 1% or even lower commission rate - they will recommend you. So overall I think it's a pretty good service...


----------



## Sandra (May 14, 2015)

*rela estate agent rates*

I live in Montreal and me and my husband are buying a house right now. 

The rate is 2,5% for each of the agent, it means you pay 2,5% for your agent and 2,5% for the agent of the person who is gonna buy your house. So, it's 5% at the end.


----------



## TorontoGQ (May 18, 2015)

*in order to cut the commission rate*

if you already have a property in mind that you wish to buy, worth checking out Urbanic


----------



## Fain (Oct 11, 2009)

Ask for a 1% kickback if you are the buyer. Many will agree to it


----------

