When it comes to working with a real estate agent to sell your home, 73% of agents will not lower their standard rate. This means negotiation to lower your costs isn’t likely.
This leads you to ask: how much do realtors charge to sell your house? The answer to this question may have you reconsidering how much you ask for your home or how you go about selling it.
This guide will help you better understand the cost of selling a house with a realtor.
What Is A Realtor?
Most people often confuse realtors with real estate agents. Although they’re both licensed and do the same thing, there’s one core difference. Realtors are called such because they’re active and paying members of the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
Working With Realtors: Pros and Cons
Working with real estate professionals is the gold standard in property buying and selling. Since realtors are equipped with real estate knowledge and have had significant experiences in the field, they can guide you through the different aspects of your real estate transactions, especially the paperwork and legal facets.
Here are some of the advantages of hiring a realtor to sell your property:
- You save a lot of time and energy
- You don’t have to perform the negotiations yourself
- You don’t have to organize home staging and tours with potential buyers
- You don’t have to get in touch with contractors, attorneys, and inspectors for repair and upgrades
Now, if you’re wondering if working with a realtor also comes with disadvantages, there’s only one. With their many tasks and responsibilities, you can expect that it’s costly to hire them. However, if their fees are beyond your budget, you might just want to sell your house RI to home-buying real estate investors instead.
How Much Do Realtors Charge to Sell Your House?
The industry-standard rate to sell a house is about 6% of the home’s final sale price. This rate can vary, but most fall in the 4% to 7% range. A variety of conditions can affect the percentage that a realtor charges:
- Geographic region
- Market conditions
- Home’s value bracket
It’s uncommon to find a real estate agent that charges by the hour. This would be hard to track and unrealistic, so the vast majority charge a commission or flat fee.
When Will You Pay More?
If your home is going to be harder to sell, then you’ll need to expect to pay more. The agent will have to put in more work to get the house sold, so they’ll want a bigger commission for the extra effort. This can happen if there’s lots of competition, your home isn’t worth a lot, or it isn’t in the best condition.
If you’re saying, “I want to sell my house fast,” then this may not be the best course of action for you. Skip the realtor fees and putting your home on the market. You can get an instant quote from a cash buyer that will close faster and put more cash in your pocket.
However, if your home has a high value, the market inventory for similar homes is limited, and it’s in beautiful condition, then you have an easier sale. This means it may be easier to find an agent willing to take a lower commission because they won’t have to put in as much effort.
Can You Negotiate?
While financial experts will tell you to negotiate, it’s unlikely this will be successful. The commission gets split among several players, which means only a portion ends up in the agent’s pocket. Many are unwilling to reduce their already small portion of the pie.
Depending on the nature of the sale, there are several parties who take part in the splitting of the commission.
- Listing agent
- Buyer’s agent
- Listing agent’s brokerage
- Buyer’s agent’s brokerage
A common strategy sellers use is to add the commission cost to their desired selling price of their home. That way, the buyer essentially pays the commission instead.
Sell Your House Today
So how much do realtors charge to sell your house? The short answer is that it depends. If you’re looking to sell your home fast and keep as much of the proceeds as possible, then you may want to skip the realtor and work directly with a cash buyer.
Browse our other articles to see more helpful and inspiring ideas for your home.
