You may think it's the bread winner. You may say "it's the Mrs., of course"! You may think...it's you! So who is it really? It's often actually the buyers' Realtor. They are, after all, the resident expert with experience and exposure to confidently guide home buyers toward the right home!
Like many of my posts, I'm pretty certain that this post will annoy a few agents. No disrespect or judgement intended, but it is what it is. These are simply my thoughts. I write what I practice, and I practice what allows me to sleep peacefully, knowing that I've given my clients the very best possible representation possible.
Here's a bit of background on commissions. In the areas I serve, since the beginning of my real estate career, 6% is the standard sales commission paid buy the seller. This commission is typically shared equally between the cooperating brokers; 3% and 3%. Listing Agents and Buyer's Agents both have their fair share of responsibilities, tasks, hurdles, and headaches that they encounter throughout their days, weeks, and months. Some transactions are simple. Some are complex. It's my belief that, at the end of the day, it all comes out in the wash. "But I worked so hard on this one! I deserve more!" Yea? Maybe you don't? Maybe you made bad choices when screening your client. Maybe the property you wrote on was a money pit. Maybe you had a cash buyer with low expectations who's buying everything in site and all those transactions are simple! It all evens out in the end.
So looking at the question posed at the beginning of this blog, why does it even matter who is the biggest influence in the home buying process? Because, and here comes the part that can make folks uncomfortable, it's very easy to see how (with a Realtor's personal income as a direct function of the sales price of the house and percentage commission to be received at closed) an agent might encourage their buyers to write on one home over another 'like' property, based on the commission.
Of the 85 homes sold in Brentwood in April of 2013, only 14 had the buyer's agents commission at 3%. Most were 2.5% with a few as low as 1%. As someone looking to sell my home, don't I want the market (buyers' agents) to be motivated to show my house as often as possible, with as much enthusiasm as possible?
Here's the cold, hard, ugly question. If an agent is looking at like properties, one paying her 2% and another paying her 3%, which one is she likely to encourage her buyer to write an offer on? But aren't agents supposed to have their clients best interest in mind? Absolutely! Many, many agents do! Some...don't. After all, although sometimes we're not treated as such, we are actually human.
There are exceptions to this rule, as there are to most. But it's a safe bet that a relevant percentage of homes closing with a cooperating broker commission split that is out of balance likely closed at a price lower than they might have if the buyer's agents had been sufficiently (or equally) motivated.
As someone looking to sell your home, please discuss this topic with your Realtor. If your Realtor addresses this topic in a manner that leaves you with a comfortable understanding...game on! If they hem and haw around the issue, press on until you have an answer that satisfies you.
Until next time, and thank you in advance for remembering me when the topic of real estate arises.
Make way on how our Property Investment will be successful and we have to take our part in achieving that goal. Its important that we do everything achieving our success. We shall make our decisions clear for our business to ensure our success in our business.
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