HOw much does a realestate agent make from one sale?

October 312009

Is it a percent or is there just a flat rate!

The other answers are incorrect.

Yes, there is a total commission of 5% to 6% of the total sale price. This is for a residential, single family home.

HOWEVER the agent doesn’t get ALL of that money.

In fact, when its a cooperating deal ["co-op deal"] with another office:
The listing agent has the property and
The selling agent has the buyer

There is STILL not a 3% split between the agents.

The agents work under the license of a real estate broker. In the case of a "co-op deal", there are 2 licensed offices involved.

Yes the offices split 3% each or whatever the arrangement is, which is stated in the contract, HOWEVER, the agents are on a flat pay basis OR on a commission basis of that office’s share of the commission.

For example: Agent A in Office A gets a listing for a property at $100,000. The Agent does everything which is connected with the sale on the Seller’s behalf to bring the deal to settlement/closing/escrow.

Agent B in Office B introduces the Buyer to the property. Agent B does the paperwork and makes sure the Buyer does everything the Buyer has to do to get the deal to closing/settlement/escrow.

At the time of closing/settlement/escrow, the total commission is 6% or $6,000, which is equally divided between the two offices.

Agent A had the listing. According to the arrangements Agent A has with Office A, Agent A’s share of the commisission is 1/2 of the 3% or 1 1/2% or $1,500. Office A has bills and expenses to pay too. They get the other $1,500.

Agent B had the Buyer. According to the arrangements Agent B has with Office B, Agent B’s share of the commisission is 70% of the 3% or $1,050. Office B has bills and expenses to pay too. They get the balance of 30% of that $1,500 or $450.

NOTE: THIS IS NOT ALWAYS THE SCENARIO OR OUTCOME. Different offices have differnt fees and different commission schedules.

Thanks for asking your Q! I enjoyed answering it!

VTY,
Ron Berue
Yes, that is my real last name!

6 Responses

  1. julesoriginals Says:

    The agency makes 6% if they list and sell.

    They make 3% of they either list or sell – but not both.

    The agent will make a percentage of the total commission – usually about 1% – 1.5%.
    References :

  2. Fredric MD boy Says:

    Commission to sella house is usually 5-6%. It is split 50/50 between agent of buyer and agent of seller. Sell sometimes negotiate it lower. There are also companies that will put your house on MLS – computer listing service for flat fee of say $500 but will not really help you sell it (ie open houses, etc)
    References :

  3. katieboo Says:

    they’re both wrong.
    References :

  4. Dawni Do Right Says:

    It’s hard to give an exact answer.

    Commissions are paid to the Listing Broker. As an incentive to have other agents in the MLS sell their listings, they will offer a portion of the commission to the Selling Broker.

    Typical commission to list a home could be 6% of the sales price. The Listing Broker may offer half or 3% to the Selling Office. Some agents negotiate higher commission & then offer 3% to Selling Office only to retain the remaining. Other Listing Brokers take less (2%) & offer more to the Selling Office (4%) in efforts to obtain a quicker sale.

    From there, each agent has a commission plan with their Broker & there are a wide variety of them. Their split with their Broker could be anything from 50/50 (typically new agents), 70/30, 75/25, 80/20, 90/10 or 100% (desk fee agents).

    Once that calculation is factored in, the agent has fees that are somtimes deducted from their commission. Typical fees would be a minimal amount for errors & omission, taxes, francise fees, transaction fee.
    References :
    22 Years Real Estate Experience ~ Associate Broker since 1991

  5. kemperk Says:

    all the other people answering are correct.

    This is a common query in licensing school.
    The law is simple about this:

    selling [aka listing agreements] /buying commissions are ALWAYS negotiable. There is no exception.

    Culturally—across the US,
    most RE brokers feel a listing at 7% is
    normal. This is split between the
    selling agent and buyer’s agent.

    This is also for houses.

    land is often different, commercial is different,
    and cemetary lots, and time shares often
    different yet.

    The only oddity is, since i state that
    commissions are negotiable, is that
    when an agreement is written between
    a seller and a listing broker, till the listing
    expires, whatever was agreed to is
    the %.

    To make things SEEM more normal,
    every agent I have talked to just says
    7% rather than, "the seller has a contract
    with 7%."

    Any seller at any time, can require a potential
    listing broker to only charge 6.5, 6 or
    whatever; the philosophy being that if
    lower than 7% [and the buyer's agent
    gets half usually], the buyer’s agent will not
    bother showing such a house.

    That is why it is always better to hire
    a buyer’s agent when buying, and never
    a dual agent when buying.

    and today, smart listing agents will not
    try to seek out buyers because of the
    rule of FIDUCIARY. [an agent not
    possibly represent both buyer and
    seller to the best of his ability. Being fair
    is NOT the same as doing one's best!]
    References :
    RE broker

  6. Ron Berue Says:

    The other answers are incorrect.

    Yes, there is a total commission of 5% to 6% of the total sale price. This is for a residential, single family home.

    HOWEVER the agent doesn’t get ALL of that money.

    In fact, when its a cooperating deal ["co-op deal"] with another office:
    The listing agent has the property and
    The selling agent has the buyer

    There is STILL not a 3% split between the agents.

    The agents work under the license of a real estate broker. In the case of a "co-op deal", there are 2 licensed offices involved.

    Yes the offices split 3% each or whatever the arrangement is, which is stated in the contract, HOWEVER, the agents are on a flat pay basis OR on a commission basis of that office’s share of the commission.

    For example: Agent A in Office A gets a listing for a property at $100,000. The Agent does everything which is connected with the sale on the Seller’s behalf to bring the deal to settlement/closing/escrow.

    Agent B in Office B introduces the Buyer to the property. Agent B does the paperwork and makes sure the Buyer does everything the Buyer has to do to get the deal to closing/settlement/escrow.

    At the time of closing/settlement/escrow, the total commission is 6% or $6,000, which is equally divided between the two offices.

    Agent A had the listing. According to the arrangements Agent A has with Office A, Agent A’s share of the commisission is 1/2 of the 3% or 1 1/2% or $1,500. Office A has bills and expenses to pay too. They get the other $1,500.

    Agent B had the Buyer. According to the arrangements Agent B has with Office B, Agent B’s share of the commisission is 70% of the 3% or $1,050. Office B has bills and expenses to pay too. They get the balance of 30% of that $1,500 or $450.

    NOTE: THIS IS NOT ALWAYS THE SCENARIO OR OUTCOME. Different offices have differnt fees and different commission schedules.

    Thanks for asking your Q! I enjoyed answering it!

    VTY,
    Ron Berue
    Yes, that is my real last name!
    References :
    My wonderful family!

    In the real estate business over 34 years in PA.

    My wonderful coaches & mentors. Yes, after all these years I continue having them in my corner!

    THE ABSOLUTE BEST, MOST WONDERFUL real estate investment group in the world, which I was very proud to be a member of!

    "THE University of Hard Knocks"

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