As of January 1, 2024, until today, they have saved a whopping $489,000! Savings per client range from thousands to tens of thousands, depending on the sale price of the home and the terms negotiated.
So, how does this work exactly?
Well, let me explain....(All prices are plus GST.)
If your home is under $400,000, your commission payable is $7,950.00. (Buyer's Agent gets $3,500)
If your home is $400,000 - $900,000, it is $9,950.00 (Buyer's Agent gets $4,500)
If your home is over $900,000, it is 1% plus $950 for marketing costs. (Buyer's Agent gets 0.50% of the sale price)
The Buyer's agents MAY ASK for more than the posted commission. And they can because the Commission is negotiable.
Why would they do this?
Well, for starters, their buyer may have asked them to write it in the offer, because of the Exclusive Buyer's Representation Agreement (EBRA) that should have been signed before that offer was written.
All Buyers MUST sign this document prior to writing offers; in fact, it should be signed before viewing homes with an Agent.
The EBRA states that a Buyer will pay an agreed fee to their Agent if the property sale offers less commission to the Agent than the Agreement states they will be paid.
So, if they fall in love with your home and the Buyer's Agent's payment fee is posted less than the EBRA outlines, he/she will be paid, the Buyer may ask to write the EBRA's fee into the offer and see if the Seller will pay it. Commission is negotiable, so they can do this.
Sometimes they do ask for it to be written in, and sometimes they don't ( *****see my stats below for more on this!******)
IF the Buyers ask you to pay their Agent's fee, you, as the Seller, have 3 options;
1. SAY YES! You are free to give the Buyer's Agent more if you like. That is entirely up to you, and your decision may be based on the sale price, terms, or other factors that make this an easy choice for you.
2. SAY NO. You can always say no, and to be perfectly clear, the EBRA that the Buyer already SIGNED prior to writing the offer states that they will pay the Agent if he/she cannot collect it from you. So it will be submitted to their office and to the lawyers to form part of the offer documents, and the buyers will need to bring in the amount due as part of their closing costs. It is already a signed contract prior to them even seeing your home.
3. You can also agree to a FLAT Fee or a different percentage amount. Because Commission is negotiable, you can negotiate something else in between that works for everyone.
So, the next logical question is:
How often do these scenarios play out? GREAT QUESTION!
I have tracked all my sales and scenarios since day one. Let's take a look!
From my LISTINGS SOLD since Jan 1, 2024 to today:
47.2% paid NO extra Commission
30.9% paid a Flat fee of various amounts that were satisfactory to all parties
21.8% paid 3.5% on the first $100,000 and 1.5% on the balance of the sale price to fulfill EBRA agreements for that amount.
And MANY of those were sold for over asking price due to multiple offers.
So, this is how I calculate the Commission savings.
Since many Agents charge 7% on the first $100,000 and 3% on the balance of the sale price, this is number I use to calculate the savings. Keep in mind for your next listing, that Commission is Negotiable and not all Brokers Charge the same. You can also negotiate Up and pay higher than these numbers if you want to!
Commission doesn't always have to be negotiated down.
The reality is that it is a savings option that works for lots of clients. So, if you are curious about this process and how it plays out, let's chat. I am happy to answer your questions.
I offer Full Service Real Estate for a fraction of the cost!
Jill Turgeon
One Percent Realty
780-218-7444
#savings #onepercentrealty #lowcommission #happycleints #savemoney #sellfast #FullServiceRealEstate #mutliplelistingservice
*not intended to solicit listings already under contract. Commission is negotiable and not all Brokers Charge the same. These commission savings are based on comparing with a broker that charges 7%/$100,000 and 3% on the balance of the sale price. *not intended to solicit listings already under contract