When you have shortlisted any potential real estate agent near you to help you to sell your property, then it is important to know how much commission he will charge, particularly you must be very specific about their commission and fees.
The fees and commission that you will pay will be based on the cost of your property under sale, hence it makes sense to be aware of what is he going to charge you and how that can impact your finances.
You must know that agent commissions in Australia are not regulated, and it is generally decided by the market. That means that the commission rates for real estate agents may vary.
Certain commission rates also include the cost of advertising and marketing in the structure of the commission, and a few others may break these costs and charge a separate fee.
Commission and fee structures
Basically, commissions are what you have to pay your estate agent just for selling the property. Often, they are based on a certain percentage of your selling price. However, there are also a few fixed-fee options too.
Usually, an agent will help with photography, advertising, and copywriting for marketing your property, however, these services will be additionally charged besides commission.
Typically, in Australia, the commission rate varies between 1.6% to 4% of your price of the property, based on many different factors like location and property value.
Flat fee
A few real estate agents will offer a fixed fee, which will be a certain fixed amount irrespective of what price the deal is made. This fixed fee in Australia may vary from $4,000 to $10,000.
A benefit of agreeing to a fixed fee will be that you will know from the beginning how much you will shell out upfront for selling your property. Often this can be lower than any other payment structure.
However, you have to do more legwork for opening houses and also liaising with buyers as this fee structure will not offer any incentive to the agent by fetching a higher price because they will get the same commission regardless.
Fixed-percentage fee
This option is most commonly followed while charging commission while selling any property. You may get a list of local realestate agents from the Bleen and discuss with them what percentage rate they charge.
When you get an estimate from any real estate agent, generally they will also tell you the approximate amount that they think your property may get sold for. Their commission will accordingly set that may or may not consider their advertising services.
The pros of this option will be that agents will get more incentive if he succeeds to make a deal with a higher price.
You must always keep in mind that any agents who are very highly focused on the final price of your property may be a little slow in finalising your sale deal. They will keep on looking for a potential buyer who is ready to pay a higher price. Therefore, it will be a better idea to remain transparent with your preference and needs.
