When you sell your home through a realtor, you end up paying a listing fee. It’s worth the fee compared to trying to sell the home by yourself, since realtors offer valuable services and benefits in exchange. But what kind of fee should you expect to pay? There are full commission listing fees, and then, there is the option of a 1% listing fee. What’s the difference? Let’s take a look.
1% Listing Fee vs Full Commission Listing Fee Comparison
The regular full commission listing fee for selling a home is generally 6%, although it’s sometimes a different amount. This means the home seller pays 6% of their home’s price to the listing realtor. The other option is a 1% listing fee real estate agent, who you pay a 1 percent listing fee for their services. Why is there such a big discrepancy between the listing percentages? Generally, they offer you slightly different services when listing your home on the real estate market.
With the 6% listing fee, the buyer’s and seller’s realtors split the commission fee for their separate roles in the process. So you’re paying about 3% for each realtor. This fee pays for their time spent and serves as the income for their profession. It also covers expenses they spent money on in the process, such as signs or photography.
The percentage is paying for things like listing the home in the Multiple Listing Services (MLS), which is a professional listing service of homes for sale. It also covers showings, open houses, calls, negotiations, professional knowledge, marketing and other aspects.
A 1 percent realtor charges a 1% commission fee instead of the normal fee of approximately 3% each. Your listing agent will likely advise that you work with a full commission buyer’s agent, who would charge about 3%. So by working with a 1% realtor, you could pay about 4% total instead of the full commission of 6% split between the two. The 2% you save off the final listing price of your home could save you thousands of dollars in the end.
Benefits of a 1% Realtor
When you work with a 1 percent listing fee real estate agent, you still work with a professional agent who can list your home and help to sell it. These professionals are looking for new ways to attract buyers and offer them better deals in the modern real estate market. In many cases, they offer a lower fee by simplifying their services. This way, you’re not paying for extra things you may not need. Sometimes, you get the full range of services, and the realtor works with more sellers at once.
Overall, you’re still getting the MLS listing that can help buyer’s agents find your home. You’re still getting a professional, trained realtor. You’re still getting the most important services like negotiations, support with paperwork, help with pricing and home valuation, and more.
And by working with a 1 percent realtor, you’re saving thousands of dollars on your home selling process. Saving 2% off the listing of a $250,000 home saves you $5,000. You would save $10,000 off a $500,000 home. You can see that the savings are significant, and every bit helps during the home selling process.