Broker fee

As a seller's broker fee.

1. I offer and pay broker's 3% when selling
2. even in this market I am sticking with that

The only break we received on a recent purchase through a well know brokerage was 1% off for properties over 1 million and an additional 1% off for the buyer not using a broker. We didn't haggle over that because the broker gave spent a lot of time giving us advice on upgrades and staging; he also took top quality photos.

I know the following will read like a shameless plug but as the principal broker (que the jeers), my company represents sellers for 4.5% regardless of the asking price (and drop it again if there isn't a buyers agent involved). We are a full service brokerage, not an a la carte discount listing company. We have been in Manhattan for 10+ years (in business for 20+years). We also have a buyer's rebate program when representing buyers. Our business model is simple - by keeping overhead low and not over expanding, we can share profits WITH our clients. Our goal is to maintain these clients (hopefully they will refer us to their friends/family/colleagues). Why nickel and dime clients to the point they will never work with you again.

rbhomes....no worries. have a link to your company?

Our website is: http://rbhomesrealty.com/

Try realdirect.com as well.

Other brokerages like oxford will go lower. Issue is at larger firms the pie gets split so agents don't have too much wiggle room.

large firms cannot adjust their commission schedule according to the whims of the current market, nor should they have to. If I were selling a property in NYC I would want a competent, high profile agent/company handling the sale. We have represented buyers who were bidding on properties listed by realdirect, it was pretty seamless, which is important if you are a property seller. We focus on buyers only, that is where I saw opportunity to provide educated buyers with a solid quantitative business model where we partner with them in a 100% transparent environment. The rebate becomes icing on the cake as there is more involved with a purchase than one thinks. The model has been a recipe for success.

Keith Burkhardt
The Burkhardt Group

How low can a broker go? Is there a legal minimum commission or is it all up for negotiation? In London, UK we pay 1.5% and I once paid 1% on selling a big property at 1%. Was 2010.

I paid 1% in London, too! Much more reasonable...

Many firms, many fee structures. The high payout firms (like mine), agents/brokers can negotiate their own fees. I've taken listings at 1.5% on properties > $2M or 1031 x-changes where I make most of my $ on the buy side.

I'm still amazed at the number of agents, managers , brokers etc. who are unaware that competing models are not only viable and out there, but protected by law. This was actually posted on REBNY's website at the request of the AIG's office. In my opinion competition is always better than a monopoly, certainly better for the consumer. Technology made it less expensive to purchase airline tickets, stocks, jewelry and even prepare taxes; My old broker in the 80's at Merrill Lynch was not happy when I moved my account to Schwab, but I found I did much better with some assistance and my own participation and saved a few bucks along the way. There is always resistance to change, but in the end without change things stagnate and wither. We need dynamic thinkers to drive creative, efficient new models of change.

January 23, 2014
Contact The Antitrust Bureau

Participants in the real estate industry are closer to daily real estate activity and more
likely to observe anticompetitive conduct. We rely on reports from real estate lawyers, brokers, purchasers, and others in the industry. Please feel free to contact us with your questions and concerns.

Antitrust Bureau
State of New York
Office of the Attorney General
120 Broadway, 26th Floor
New York, NY 10271
antitrust.realestate@ag.ny.gov
212-416-8262

What to Look for

Illegal anticompetitive practices in real estate transactions can include:

Agreements among brokers not to charge
commissions under a certain level;
Agreements among brokers not to work
with discount brokers;
Refusals to deal with brokers who offer
rebates to their clients;
Refusals to show properties that are for
sale by owner (FSBOs) or listed by a discount
broker;
Agreements among brokers or multiple listing services (MLSs) to prevent competition from real estate websites.
Agents and Fiduciary Responsibilities

Frequently, a real estate agent’s fiduciary duties are not well understood by consumers, and even by some real estate professionals. Consumers should receive full disclosure of all the information they need for a fair real estate transaction. For example,

Buyers must receive the required disclosure form listing the broker’s fiduciary duties and disclosing whom the broker represents.
Buyers should be informed if the agent representing them is going to be paid by the seller’s broker.
Buyers should feel free to inquire about how much commission their broker will earn on a transaction.
Both buyers and brokers should know that rebating commissions is legal in New York.

I used Digs Realty Group to sell my property. They lowered their commission to 1% (and still provided all the services a brokerage that charges 3% does), but advised me to still offer 2.5-3% to the buyer's broker in order to attract the most purchasers. Dan was great, and my apartment went into contract in less than 3 weeks!

stza...good for you and it's great to see the real estate industry stranglehold finally being broken. As Keith said there are new commission models popping up every day. It was inevitable and absolutely necessary. Why, for the love would I want to give away $60,000 of my home sale to some broker who just basically gets in the way? Stop with the "negotiating abilities" and let's be real here...what are they doing? NOTHING. Now we must educate the buyer that they are NOT I repeat NOT being taken around and "shown"("now here is the kitchen")properties for free. They are paying 3% of their next home purchase for that "free" service. "oh but its not costing me anything!" wrong, someone has to pay that commission and guess what....it's you Mr and Mrs Buyer.

steveF - I thought about listing my property myself, but I honestly just didn't have the time. In the end, I am glad I used a broker since Dan really did add value (despite my initial skepticism of brokers similar to yours). I know he also represents buyers and gives a commission rebate. I haven't used him (yet) to buy a property, but I'm sure his buyer services would also add value enough to justify the 1% commission he takes. I agree that a 3% commission on either the buy or sell side is inflated, but from my experience with Dan, he was certainly worth the 1%!

stza....1% is certainly way more reasonable than 3% for work that mostly includes walking buyers into a kitchen and saying "now here is the kitchen". The new models ramping up doing away with the traditional commission model. It's just a matter of time before the consumer says "hey wait one minute this is certainly not brain surgery I can do it myself".

Now I'm going to hear from all the agents defending their racket. "I do alot more than just show rooms" " I do paperwork and what about my negotiating skills!" stop. An hour of paperwork pdf'd back and forth? wow! Negotiating skills? Agents can only negotiate to what the buyer\seller tell them what they will accept. So the agent tells the other agent and both parties accept or reject. The agent's job is to grind down their clients to accept so they can move onto their next "victim"(churn 'em and burn'em).....anyhow good luck in your new home stza.

jelj13
about 9 weeks ago
Posts: 377
Member since: Sep 2011
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The only break we received on a recent purchase through a well know brokerage was 1% off for properties over 1 million and an additional 1% off for the buyer not using a broker. We didn't haggle over that because the broker gave spent a lot of time giving us advice on upgrades and staging; he also took top quality photos.

Were you the buyer or the seller?

@KeithB ...so how come you walked away from representing my friend on a purchase in Brooklyn heights when the vendors broker refused to deal with you earlier this year.......

If the law Is on your side I would have expected you to have done more......or $500k sales aren't worth the effort huh.

Don't get me wrong I like what you are trying to achieve but disappointed in your performance.

Uh, the seller's (that's our word for vendor in America) refused to deal with him. Didn't you answer your own question?