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Commission Negotiable—Shh, Don’t Tell!

Posted on May 3, 2006 by The Tim

Thanks to the bubble, there are real estate agents lurking under every rock, and web sites slowly creeping in on the home sales action as well. As a result, the sacred 6% commission is not so hallowed anymore:

Here’s another trick of the trade: When you sell your house, tell the agent you want to negotiate their commission.

Bill McCabe listed his house with a 4 percent commission instead of the traditional 6 percent — getting the listing agent to drop their commission by 1.5 percent, and the buyer’s agent to drop their commission by a half percent.

That saved McCabe $10,000.

Thanks to a glut of agents and discount listing sites on the Internet, broker Johh Hama told me agents are taking cuts — even if they don’t like to talk about it.

In times when the seller is also purchasing a property as well as selling a property, where there’s two transactions — that’s when you’re in a prime position to negotiate. But don’t expect your agent to volunteer.
…
Remember the bottom line in real estate is it’s all about money.

Indeed, and in this blogger’s opinion, the smart money is getting out of real estate right about now. Despite what the addicted-to-6% agents may be screaming, there are times when land is a bad investment. After the fastest run-up in history, it’s quite likely that now is one of those times.

(Connie Thompson, KOMO News, 05.02.2006)

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