Discount Real Estate Firm Pressures Traditional Brokers
The traditional real estate commission from a full service brokerage tends to be 6–7 percent. The newer low cost firms have been offering flat fee brokerage services, or an ala carte menu to reduce the costs for the seller. If you do not mind marketing or showing your own home, this may be an alternative for you.
Homeowners can select from an a la carte menu that ranges from traditional full service to flat or greatly reduced fees if owners are willing to shoulder some of the selling load, such as personally showing their home to potential buyers.
Bill Urasky, a broker in the Aurora, Ill., office of Help-U-Sell real estate, says the reduced fee concept has come of age. “Some customers don’t feel they get their money’s worth in a traditional real estate company,” says Urasky. “Do they (real estate firms) do anything else different from us? The answer is no.”
His Help-U-Sell office charges sellers a flat $2,950 fee to sell a home. That includes placing the home on the local Multiple Listing Service, the typical “For Sale” sign in the yard, and negotiations with buyers. From there, owners can pay an added fee for the Help-U-Sell Realtor to handle all facets of the process, including showing the home during open houses or additional advertising.
Sellers can opt to show the home themselves, although Help-U-Sell follows up with all interested would-be purchasers.
Commission savings can be substantial. In a typical 6 percent commission real estate transaction on a $200,000 home, the Realtor fee would be $12,000. The $2,950 flat-fee scenario shaves that percentage to 1.47 percent. via Jacksonville.com
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Comment by Stacie Whitfield on 22 January 2007:
The article says that help u sell charges a flat fee of $2995 to list the property in the MLS and post a sign…however, they charge more for negotiations??? This isn’t a “deal”. I started my flat fee brokerage in 1999, when nobody was doing it…I’ve always charged less then $599 for the same service. I don’t think $2995 is a deal just for entering info. into the mls, which takes about 20 minutes…oh, and posting a sign, which usually costs $45. So if you do find a buyer and you want negotion assistance, they hit you with another charge? I like the way TRUE flat fee brokers do it. Charge just one flat fee for MLS entry only and if you want assistance with negotiations, its a higher flat fee.
Comment by discount real estate on 30 July 2008:
One way for home buyers can get a discount when buying real estate is to use a real estate buyer broker that offers commission rebates. Buyer broker rebates can help offset the cost of housing.
David Gorman/ Real estate broker
Cashback Realty.com
Comment by Commission Rebate | Realtor® | Georgia on 30 July 2008:
Buyer broker rebates indeed reduce the cost of a real estate transaction. All too often, a buyer will spite their overall transaction by thinking he/she will get a better deal without a buyer’s agent; however, all the buyer has done is effectively paid for something that was not rendered. Brokerage services are accounted for through the sales price — and the buyer’s side was retained by the seller’s agent.