If you’re in the business of real estate, at some point in time, you’ve either had a buyer or a seller ask you to cut your commission.

The ultimate goal as a Realtor is to look out for our client’s best interests and to be honest, no matter what. If you’re on a listing presentation and you tell Mr. and Mrs. Seller that you’ll list their property at 6% and they say something like, “Agent X said they’d list it for 5%”.

If you decide to match that 5%, then you’ve just told Mr. and Mrs. Seller a LIE, right? And that’s no way to begin a relationship. Remember, you started with “I’ll list your home at 6% commission”. If you cannot protect the negotiation of your own commission, how can you expect to negotiate the best price for your client when it comes to an offer being presented?

Here’s a scenario to consider…you list Mr. and Mrs. Seller’s house at 5% and offer to co-broke at 2.5% with another Realtor representing the buyer. Your client’s home is located in a neighborhood where there are other, very similar homes for sale, on the active market. Which homes do you think are going to get the most showings from other Realtors?

Here in the Catawba Valley of NC, there are 855 active Realtors working with buyers and sellers everyday. There are over 2100 active listings on the market. Isn’t it better to have all 855 agents looking for potential buyers for your home as opposed to just the one Realtor you listed with? Commission does matter.

Here’s a brief description of how the whole commission thing works…You list your home with a Realtor offering to pay 6% commission. When the home sells, 3% goes to the buyer’s agent and their company and 3% goes to the listing agent (seller’s agent) and their company. From that 3%, the company gets their cut, which in alot of cases is 50%. Realistically, the agents walk away with 1.5% of the original 6% commission. Out of that 1.5% comes the costs of marketing the property, advertising, signs, open houses, gas, flyers, so on and so forth. Do you get the picture?

Would you take a 1% cut on your weekly paycheck? Would you ask the doctor preparing to do your surgery to give you a break on the price? Realtors are no different. We work approximately 14 hours per day, always on call, at the convenience of the buyers and sellers we represent. It’s our chosen profession. Some of us actually LOVE what we do and we do it well.

The cheapest is not always the best. If you want your property sold, of course, you hope it sells quickly. Listen to your Realtor and follow their advise. Realtors are bound by a strong code of ethics and you can usually tell the good from the bad within the first few moments of speaking to one. Sometimes the honest answers are not always the answers you want to hear. But if you want your home to sell, price it competitively, pay the commission, and declutter. For decluttering tips check out my website http://www.ReginaJenkins.com

~Regina Jenkins

Keeping the “REAL” in Real Estate