Home Selling Questions | What is your commission?
December 10, 2009
I can answer this question with one word —–FLEXIBLE.
Let me explain the commission process. No matter what you may think, the realtor who lists your home almost never gets the full commission. As a matter of fact, they usually get only a small portion of that commission. Off the top, a commission is split between the Buyers broker and the Sellers broker. It is usually divided equally. The brokers then give a portion of that commission to the agent. How much the selling or buying agent receives depends on the split they have negotiated with their broker. When you factor in marketing costs, flyers, ads, etc. the agent’s split gets smaller and smaller.
Commissions vary from area to area and service to service. There is no straight or set commission in real estate. It can be as high as 7% or as low as 1%. Typically real estate commissions run 4% to 5%. A home seller has every right to negotiate a real estate commission. A home seller can and should interview potential selling agents, not only to find out their commission, but to find out what they are going to do to earn that commission. Keep in mind when negotiating a real estate commission, that you are paying for the expertise, and a level of service from the agent. The agent who is willing to take the lowest commission is not always going to provide you with the best service and the goal here is to sell your home for the most amount of money in the least amount of time with as little stress as possible. The Thornberry Team are dedicated real estate professionals who are committed to providing our clients with the best possible real estate experience.
Home Selling Questions | How much is my home worth?
December 3, 2009
I am thinking of selling my home. How much is my home worth?
In today’s up and down real estate market, there is no pat answer to that question. The basic answer is, your home is worth what the market will bear, or in other words, it’s worth what someone will pay for it.
What does that mean? As a real estate professional, I will analyze comparable sales in your neighborhood. This will give us a base to value your home. From that point we look at upgrades and improvements that make your home different from other homes in your neighborhood. We look at the current inventory in your area and we track current real estate markets.
There are several online sites where you can put in your home’s address and get a ball park value for your home, but this is a very generic way of valuing a home. When we estimate the value of your home, we like to give you a value range. It is an educated guess on our part, nobody can tell you exactly what someone is going to pay for your home.
You want to avoid pricing your home too high. Home prices are on the rise, but most homes that sit on the market week after week are there because they are priced too high. Pricing a home in this flexible market is a very important step in the real estate process. You may not get a second chance at that perfect buyer, so choose your real estate professional wisely. The one that estimates the highest price for your home is not always the one who will get your home sold.
