ABA Family Legal Guide

Buying and Selling a Home

Meeting the Players

Selecting a Real Estate Agent to Sell Your Home

What fee will I pay on the sale of my home?

Typically, real estate firms charge a percentage (generally from 5 to 7 percent) of the sale price. Some Internet-based firms have marketed themselves as low-commission realtors, advertising commissions as low as 2 percent. On some higher-priced homes, a firm may charge the full commission on the first $100,000 or $200,000 and a different percentage of any amount above that price. If the agency that lists the home is also the agency that sells it, the commission is usually shared by the agency and the individual agent who actually handled the sale. If the listing firm and the selling firm are different, the commission is shared by the two firms. The information listed on the MLS generally sets forth how the listing firm will share the sales commission when the property is sold.

Other less-common forms of fee payments include the flat-fee method, in which a set fee is charged regardless of the home's price, and the net method. The latter, which is not favored and is illegal in some states, allows the broker to retain any amount of the selling price higher than an agreed sale price.