Interested to know if you've cut your commission,
in lieu of the markets, over that last 24 months.

How do you handle buyers/sellers when they ask
you to reduce your commission?

i have moved my commission up in hte last 24 months DUE to the market conditions!

why would you try and pay less to get a better job done? just does not make sense.

do you select your doctor, cpa, financial advisor, mechanic, babysitter, structural engineer or anyone else who has to take care of something of yours that you value based on the price they charge? OR, would you ratehr pay a little bit more based on results.

lets examine.

agent list home for 300k @ 5% and it does not sell

agent list home for 300k @ 6% and it sells

there is more value in paying 3k more. the result is that you sold. the price it cost was 3k in a 300k transaction. sure, someone could list @5% for 300k and sell, but if an agent cant negotiate a 1% difference when it comes to his own money how easy will it be for him to give away a sellers money in negotiations.

Perhaps offer a variable commission, if as the listing agent you also bring the buyer (5% to do dual agency as opposed to 3% for being listor). Or negotiate your rates based on the level of marketing involved to help offset your own costs (for 6%, featured on zillow, trulia,etc. For 5% list on mls,etc.)

The answer is: "No I don't! Any other questions?"

We automatically earn less as prices go down (Just as we automatically made more as prices rose). I did recently start imposing a $2000 Minimum Commission on properties involving Structures, whereas it's still only $1000 for Raw Land.

Competitive pressures might cause us to deviate a little; but we still try to use 6% on SFRs up to $250K, 5% on Sales Prices over $250K to $500K; 4% on that portion of a Sale over 500K. I don't know what I'd do over $1 Mil, I might do that portion of it for free, because our big basic expenses are the same for all properties regardless of whether it is a Shack or a Chateau.

8% is typical for Apartment Houses (it ought to be about 50%).

10% is a starting point on Commercial Offerings, and applies to the Real Estate as well as the Business Fixtures, GoodWill, TradeName, et cetera.

We employ a 10% Commission on Land Parcels. I would consider 8% if the Seller has all Permits in place and a good Survey. But, without these, we have a lot of work to do to bring a property to market so that a prospect can go out and walk the lines and know it is buildable. Very important as Recent Regulatory changes have rendered much of the Vermont Landscape unbuildable. We're earning our keep !

I don't like variable rate commission plus dual agency is allowed in some states and illegal in others. In Georgia it is allowed however many brokerages do not practice it. I still can get paid both sides I just check that I represent the buyer or seller and that I am performing ministerial acts for the other party.

If we do variable rate commission we have an asterisk next to the co-op in our mls system. This lets other buyers brokers/agents know that if we do the deal the seller pays less. This is a deterrent to getting offers on the properties as some buyers agents see it as a disadvantage which is why we a re required to disclose. I think it hurts selling the property so I don't do it.

I have not cut my commission, but I have had my commission cut on REO listings! REO vendors keep adding more charges, hence, cutting my commission.

I do the same. Rarely am I asked why not. The seller moves on to the next question.

The agent that will give away their own money is not the agent that is going to go out and get the clients money for them! Who do you want negotiating for you?

Vermont

Wow, you caught me by surprise having a rate that goes down as the price goes up in a buyers market. As the price goes up, buyers become rarer, and my time and effort and expenses increase thus my rate goes up, not down.

So not to advocate rates, and not to upset the feds that this is a price fixing agenda I would just give an example such as 6% up to $1 million and 7% to $2 million and 8% there after to indicate a principle in my office.

I don't think sellers are really in the drivers seat now days, it just some agents let them sit there because the agent is desperate, or has a wealthy spouse and this is just a hobby.

I have not necessarily cut my commission but I have become more negotiable with clients. The market is not only hard on the agents but it is also hard on every individual. I have never been a fan of trying to get more money out of clients than I truly desire. The more fair you are with clients and explain to them your reasoning the more referrals and word of mouth you gain in the long run.

http://www.bryanandbill.com

Bay, very interesting approach. How much of your market is over $1M? over $2M? In my area, it's fairly standard for homes over $2M to have a 5% commission. Sure, it's not rare to find those that pay 6% (hell, I have even seen an 8%), but the 5% is much more usual.

Maui

The area I personally do business in is all over $1 million. And many of the larger national companies are listing in my area at 4 to 5%. Yes the wealthy feel entitled but there not stupid.

When I explain why I charge what I charge they understand that I'm not costing them extra money. When you want the best you pay for the best, if you want a cheap knockoff then you pay a lot less. And when their listing expires with that national company I get a phone call.

I decided a long time ago I would rather have 3 $350,000 listings then a $1,000,000 one. The first listing I ever got for over a million ended up costing me $30,000 (long story) and then I took a very long look at this market and made several policies carved in stone.

PLEASE tell the story of hte 30k loss. it might help others to avoid the loss in the future.

No.

When the market was hot, sellers wanted to pay a lower commission because houses sold quickly. Now they think I should take a pay cut because they aren't netting as much. Go figure.