Alternatives to paying Realtor commissions
Recently, most commissions have fallen significantly as the Internet reduces
the role of agents.This includes stock brokerage commissions , airline tickets
, insurance , shopping and many more. However, the single biggest commission
most consumers may ever pay - the one for selling their home has only fallen
modestly from the traditional 6%. That is largely because selling houses is
much more complicated than selling stocks or airline tickets.
A number of alternatives to traditional real-estate brokers are starting to
show up in some markets. Some offer commissions as low as about 3 percent,
while others offer rebates that can total thousands of dollars. Still others
offer fixed prices for listing homes on their Web site starting as low as $9.99
(Note: www.YourSaleByOwner.com was
offering these rates on the date of this publication).
Listed below are the alternative options to using traditionla real estate
agents for home buyers and sellers.
| SERVICE TYPE: |
Traditional
|
| SERVICE OFFERED: |
The Seller pays a pre-negotiated commission(typically 5 percent to 6 percent of
the sale price). The commission is divided between the buyer's and the seller's
agents.
|
| COMPANIES: |
RE/MAX , Weichert |
|
| SERVICE TYPE: |
Discounted Commissions |
| SERVICE OFFERED: |
The Seller pays a pre-negotiated commission typically 1 to 2
percent to both the buyer's and the seller's agents. |
| COMPANIES: |
Foxtons |
|
| SERVICE TYPE: |
Rebates |
| SERVICE OFFERED: |
Cash or gift cards for using a participating agent. Agents
share part of their commission with the buyer or seller. COMPANIES:
RealEstate.com |
|
|
|
| SERVICE TYPE: |
For Sale by Owner |
| SERVICE OFFERED: |
Typically a web based offering with a flat fees starting for
as low as $9.99. The services include listing homes on websites & search
engines. |
| COMPANIES: |
www.YourSaleByOwner.com |
|
| 
