What Does A Real Estate Agent’s 6% Commission Mean? Read this to find out!

Selling your home on your own can’t be that difficult, correct? Sure, you have to list the home online, get in touch with potential buyers, show it off, and negotiate contracts. How hard can that be? Considering an agent’s commission is around 6% of the total sale, which can be well over $20,000 that you don’t earn, the idea of going the FSBO (for sale by owner) route seems pretty enticing.  If the steps listed above were the only ones that came alongside selling a home, then more people would be doing it. However, only about 8% of sellers actually do. As it turns out, “saving” yourself the extra 6% or so commission might not actually be worth it. Here’s why. 

Real Estate Agents are Jacks of all Trades

If selling a house really was just getting in touch with a few buyers, doing a couple of showings, and then signing off on it, then almost everyone would be taking matters into their own hands. As it turns out, selling a house requires tons of behind the scenes action. While you might only work with them here and there, a good agent is tackling home selling tasks from start to finish. This includes finding qualified buyers, scheduling walkthroughs, checking home affordability calculators for fair home prices, working with appraisers, reviewing contracts, and so much more. They’re working at all hours of the day to make sure that after all is said and done, your home is sold for the best price possible and in the lowest amount of time. 

To people who have never sold a house before and who have little to no knowledge of the world of real estate, jumping into this alone could be very overwhelming and oftentimes messy.

They’re Not Taking Home All of the 6%

Say your agent sells your house for $350,000. Holy cow, are they really pocketing $21,000 of that? The answer is no. First off, they’re going to split that sum with the buyer’s agent, which knocks that down to $10,500. Still a lot of money, right? Even after the sum is halved, a portion is going to the broker they work with. Further, they’ll need to pay all of the fees associated with being a real estate agent in addition to the costs associated with selling your house. All of those photos, listings, advertisements, and more aren’t free.

If you’re considering hiring an agent and trying to get that commission price a bit lower, then you’re going to be sacrificing some of the tools that they’d use to sell your house to some major buyers. Judging by our information about an agent’s commission, this in turn could mean less money at the end of the day for both you and your agent. 

You Can Make More Money on the Sale with a Good Realtor

Many real estate agents have been in the business for years. They know who to call to get the job done right, they’re aware of successful marketing tactics, and they have a great resource to find a large variety of serious buyers. Having all of these items in their back pockets allows them to sell fast and to sell successfully. The money put towards a Realtors’ commission can turn into thousands of dollars more in your pocket down the road. So is it worth it? We think so. Finding a trustworthy Realtor is in your best interest if you want to sell your home with success!