Paying a Full Real Estate Commission is Probably The Biggest Financial Mistake a Seller Can Ever Make
As anyone who has ever listed and sold a home using a REALTOR® before will tell you, the most valuable service that they have to offer a seller is the marketing exposure to other real estate professionals via the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).
When you list your home with a full commission real estate company you can expect to pay 6% of the selling price for this valuable marketing exposure. Realty Direct allows home sellers to list and sell their homes on the very same MLS for only 4% total commission – a 33% savings over the cost of a full commission company.
In the vast majority of transactions involving REALTORS®, there are two real estate agents involved – the agent who has the listing, and the agent who found the buyer. While the total agreed commission paid by the seller doesn’t change, the seller is effectively paying 3% to the agent that listed their home (the listing side commission), and 3% to the agent that actually found their buyer (the selling side commission). By discounting the listing side commission, Realty Direct gives home sellers access to those agents doing the selling for less commission.
Discounted commissions, without discounted service
A common misconception about our business is that one real estate agent alone will earn 6% commission when he or she sells a property. In reality, we typically only earn half of that when we sell a house. The other 3% is retained by the listing agent. Agents within the same office compete with each other for business, and so this commission sharing arrangement applies regardless of whether the listing and selling agents are associated with the same or different real estate companies.
The likelihood of the same real estate agent handling both sides in the same transaction is very rare in our market. There tends to be those agents that specialize in listing real estate, and those agents that specialize in selling real estate. Our policy is to cooperate with and to compensate selling real estate agents, thereby providing them with every incentive to show and help sell your home. Realty Direct gives home sellers access to those agents doing the selling for less commission.
“Full service for less since 1997”
For example, a client who sells their home for $500,000 can save $10,000 in unnecessary real estate commission with Realty Direct. As consumers become more informed, fewer home sellers will be willing to pay full commissions. Real estate commission is often the largest professional fee that anyone will ever pay in their lifetime, and paying a full real estate commission is probably The Biggest Financial Mistake a Seller Can Ever Make.
Paul R. Venning, Licensed Real Estate Broker & REALTOR®
