Yes, I feel that they do get more attention. In this slower market that we are experiencing some are offering
higher commissions or a bonus to the buyer agents and those properties are selling faster in some cases.

I wish there was a way to exterminate this VERY OLD post.

But my clients are loyal to a fault, and they spread the word.
~~~~~~~~~~
Clearly, you missed that part of my post. Sound. Bankable. Business Decision.

and I was by no means suggesting that this is the way that YOU should conduct business, or anyone else, for that matter. The question was asked "have you ever..." and I answered it that "yes, I have..."

you then said it was like "betting on the come", and I said "I would bet on the come...", because it's working for me. So it appears to be a sound, bankable business decision. I think that the Fortune 500 companies would agree, that building customer loyalty is an important business decision.

Everyone conducts business differently. I must choose to conduct mine using sound, bankable business decisions.

Suzanne, I'll "bet on the come" each and every time. Yes, sometimes that means I get paid less, or not at all. But my clients are loyal to a fault, and they spread the word.

Just like clients can smell "fear" on you, when you need the money, they know when they're being pushed in the wrong direction.

I am a buyer's agent and I can tell you when I am showing in an area with multiple homes for sale, I will not show any home listed for a much lower commission. I am a small business, not a charity and money does matter. If you are a listing agent and think a buyer's agent doesn't note the commission reduction, you are kidding yourself. And the comment about selling a house for no commission and getting referrals later, is "betting on the come". Clients may or may not remember to refer you, even if you are in contact with them regularly...I know ego tells us, THEIR Realtor, they would never forget to make that referral, but the public, unfortunately, has a poor opinion of our profession. They think we all make zillions of dollars and working for free or little amounts is ok. We can just make it on the next sell as long as they were the ones that got the great deal... If you don't believe my outlook, however jaded you may think it is, go on google and type in " I hate realtors" and see what you find. It's rather eye-opening.

Here's a quote straight from Google on someone's blog: "if someone was about to pay me $15,000 for maybe a day or two's work over a 3 week span. I'd give them the best service I could. I guess when your mug is plastered around town like JustJack, you don't care about word-of-mouth referal. Maybe none of them care...I dunno"

Would you show a home that offered no commission?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yes, in fact I have shown, and my clients have purchased a FSBO that offered me (as the buyer's agent) zero commission. It's all about the needs of the client.

That single act of "selflessness" on my part, has garnered a supremely loyal client, and I have gotten many referrals from them since.

Mark I would like to think that common sense would prevail.

Would you show a home that offered no commission?

All agents do not work the same. Great revelation, right? I am client driven. I am trying to fnd the best property for my client, not the highest commission properety. My clients have to be satisfied first and foremost.

The answer is quite simple, offering a higher commission may garner additional attention on the part of some agents working for buyers of course. However, buyers today are computer and internet savvy and do a lot of their own research so there won't be much a buyer's agent can do (unethical as it may be) to keep a prospective buyer from finding the property that really fits his or her needs instead of the one the agent may be trying to push down their throats because of greed.
One of my instructors called this technique "loading the dice", and it's nothing new. I have seen it done since 1983 when I first started working in this industry.
Finally, the best ways to get a property noticed have not changed much: price, condition and marketing.
Keep in mind that the importance of each of those three depends on the market segment of the property in question and the current market conditions at the time you are trying to sell.
The answer to the question of "what is the best way to sell a property" depends on your (the seller's) motivation or needs and, again, the type or property and the market conditions and, in my opinion, the best way to ensure that your real estate needs are properly addressed is to acquire the services of a reputable real estate professional that is backed by the tools and marketing resources of a proven and well established international organization to help him or her get the job done for you.

Bummer, Trulia got me again! I wonder if the home seller or whoever originally posted the question gets all the emails when answers are posted. Would not be a happy camper.

Yes, Rock, and Victor.................I have learned to check the date a question was asked before answering. Not sure why year old questions are sent out, especially when similar, current questions are actively being answered.

Thanks Victor. I was wondering what the heck was going on.

@ rockinblu
It wasn't scott who drug out this old question it was the Trulia team who sent it out in an email blast to us as hot topics about commissions. They sent an email with 3 or 4 threads like this about commissions which are now getting hammered with attention.

Guess they need to keep minimum responses for all their Q&A's? lol...

Since Barbara's post is over a year old, hopefully she couldn't care less about how to find subject matter on this site. I'm sure most of us on Trulia are hoping that she has sold by now, and has moved on to the next chapter in her life, and her question here has long been forgotten by her. I'm just curious why Scott, a New Hampshire Realtor, drug out a year old question from a PA seller when there are much more current questions on the subject all over this forum. However, I did give him a TU for his answer. :)

This question has been asked only about 1,000 times a month on trulia and answered ten times over....

Tip: search trulia advice and opinions by keywords or phrases for answers to your questions before posting for quicker info.

By "higher commissioned houses" I'm assuming you mean higher than what the average seller is offering and based off that assumption the answer is.... It depends!

If the house is nice looking and meets my clients needs or is pretty close to their search criteria, I would absolutely include it where I otherwise would not because I wouldn't think it has everything they are looking for. I'd do this just because.... ya never know! People change their minds and view on taste of homes from day to day and although it may not meet everything on their wish list, including it as an extra property to show wouldn't hurt.

If they don't want to see it, they don't want to see it. No agent can twist a buyers arm to look at it because it offers a higher commission however it will gain more exposure because agents will hope they will want to.

Hope that helps!

How much attention a house gets depends on who's listing the house. Some Realtors hover over a listing and some stand back and wait. It also depends on the Realtor and how they feels about the commission you're give them.

Choose your Realtor wisely!

Interesting question Barbara. The logic is that yes they will garner more interest, but not always. I would suggest offering the incentive to the BUYER...not the agent. Perhaps help with closing costs or offer to cover maintinence items, or even lower the price. Trying to appeal to the agent's greeed may not always get the desired result....price, locationa nd condition will always win out.

Barbara, you have seen answers here that just about cover the scope of thought about this issue.

Here is just another little twist. I recently saw a listing on the MLS here that was offering a 1% commission. Sorry, I don't work for 1%! I showed the listing to the buyer and referred them back to the agency agreement they had signed. It says that my broker will accept the commission offered by the broker for the seller as long as it meets a certain minimum. The buyer is responsible to make up the difference, so in effect the commission becomes a part of the price that the buyer has to pay to purchase the home. When the buyer added the commission to the asking price of the home they decided that the home was overpriced and decided not to visit. (It is illegal for brokers to work together to SET a commission for the area, but is is NOT illegal for a Broker have a minimum commission policy for his office.)
Of course another solution would have been for the buyer to subtract the commission from the price they offered for the home.

The point is that homes on the MLS are priced with the commission included. If a home is being sold with a low commission, then it is worth less than the home next door, just as it would be worth less if it were lacking some other feature.

Yes?

Barbara,

Well, if you are asking will buyer agents avoid a home because the listing agent isn't offering out what the buyer agent usually makes or if other homes are offering more, I would have to say that though its unethical, yes, many buyer agents avoid if at all possible, showing those homes to their buyers.

I say this because Realtors have said that they do this to me.

If a buyer sees the home and then tells their Realtor about it, well then the buyer agent will take them to see it but generally, the buyer agent should NOT look at the fee and decide if they will take their buyer to see it.

In a perfect world, every Realtor would take their buyers to see every home that fits the buyer's needs.

If you are thinking of selling, you should hire a Realtor who is a great negotiator and the way you can tell, is to ask the Realtor to lower their fee. If the Realtor does, they are not a good negotiator. What do you think will happen when a buyer asks if they can get your home for less???

Good luck

Renee Porsia
Associate Broker
RE/MAX ACTION
(215) 669-0589 Direct
(215) 358-1100 office ask for Renee
http://www.reneeporsia.com

If you don't show your clients the homes that pay you a higher commission you are doing a disservice to your family. Don't you owe it to your family to look after your needs? Or is your client more important? I think it's your family that deserves more from you, no one said you need to convince your client that house is for them. Not showing them homes that pay you a higher commission just means you're priorities are in the wrong place. You're in this business to make money, not making as much as possible for your family is the wrong value. I'd want an agent that puts family before my needs, sometimes family is all you have.

IMHO it would be a violation of the fiduciary roll of an agent to show houses based on the commission. The interests of the client should come first even if it means a lesser commission for the agent.

Absolutely yes, provided they are priced properly to begin with, are in good condition and well located. I rarely cut my commission except in extreme cases. My reputation for listing properties well and offering good commissions motivates other agent's to show my properties. That coupled with working for one of the most respected nationally recognized firms and solid market positioning gets my happy clients value and the relults they want or better. I have several times even recently listed properties that had been with a "discount firm" prior. In both instances my clients bottom line was 5k and 12K respectively more in their pocket to their delight. Please see my website under testimonials for validation from one of them. The other will be posted soon as we just closed .

Good Morning Barbara,

Higher commissioned houses do not always get more attention but lower splits offered in mls will get you less attention. I, as most agents will look at what the listing agent is offering in mls as a cobroke fee and more importantly will ask the listing agent "are they splitting 50/50?" The agents that split 50/50 will always get more buyer agents looking at their houses than the agents going 70/30 where only 30% goes to the selling agent. Your best bet is to judge what the average commission is in your area, negotiate your commisison with the potential listing agent and find out what they offer buyer agents or transactional agents that bring a buyer to your house. Find out what that listing agent is offering you in marketing, advertising and service to get your home sold quickly and at the best obtainable price. Good luck with your sale.

TO BE TRUTHFUL, AGENTS LIKE EVERYONE ELSE ARE IN THE BUSINESS TO EARN A LIVING JUST LIKE YOU AND ME. IF YOU OFFER A HIGHER COMMISSION YOU ARE LIKELY TO HAVE MORE AGENTS WANTING TO PROMOTE AND OR SELL YOUR PROPERTY.
DON'T GET ME WRONG, WE ALL ENJOY HELPING OTHERS IN THIER PERSUIT OF FINDING THE RIGHT HOME FOR THE LEAST AMOUNT OF MONEY AND WE ALSO TRY TO GET THE SELLER THE MOST MONEY IN THE LEAST AMOUT OF TIME. HOWEVER, WE ARE ALSO HERE TO SUPPORT OUR FAMILIES.

Hi Barbara, be careful with offer a commission below what is conventional in the area. In may area, the norm is 2.5% out, anything lower and I think the seller is doing him/herself a disservice. A higher commission can help your listing "pop" on an agent's screen, a lower one and your home may be overlooked, at the conventional rate, you are in the running. But a higher commission will NOT sell an overpriced home. The key is pricing in the end.

If your home is currently listed and not getting showings/offers - assuming you are offering the commission that is conventional in your area, then I would lower the price before increasing the commission.

Good luck and best,
Jeannie Feenick
Weichert Realtors
Search and connect at http://www.feenick.com

Barbara, you have seen answers here that just about cover the scope of thought about this issue.

Here is just another little twist. I recently saw a listing on the MLS here that was offering a 1% commission. Sorry, I don't work for 1%! I showed the listing to the buyer and referred them back to the agency agreement they had signed. It says that my broker will accept the commission offered by the broker for the seller as long as it meets a certain minimum. The buyer is responsible to make up the difference, so in effect the commission becomes a part of the price that the buyer has to pay to purchase the home. When the buyer added the commission to the asking price of the home they decided that the home was overpriced and decided not to visit. (It is illegal for brokers to work together to SET a commission for the area, but is is NOT illegal for a Broker have a minimum commission policy for his office.)
Of course another solution would have been for the buyer to subtract the commission from the price they offered for the home.

The point is that homes on the MLS are priced with the commission included. If a home is being sold with a low commission, then it is worth less than the home next door, just as it would be worth less if it were lacking some other feature.

Yes?

Eileen's Green Team

Is a good question and there have been some great answers.

I would say it cannot hurt to have a higher commission as they may get a slight bit more attention. Here is the thing though - if you have a great product and it is priced right, than you may not need to offer an incentive.

However, if there are 5 properties on the block, all the same price with the same features, you could offer an incentive for commission ! Or lower your price and offer a greater incentive to the buyer !

It depends... Most buyers agents these days are just happy to do a deal, whether the buyers agent commission is 2.5 percent, 3 percent or 4.

To us, we do a lot of deals and our motivation is to our buyer client, so we will not push a 4 percent commission property anytime...

Good luck ! For more helpful hints and to view our Philadelphia Real Estate blog that has entries about this, visit our website below.

Barbara, in short, yes they do get more attention. Ask your real estate agent to print out the latest sales and listings in any particular neighborhood with the commission amounts and the days on market. What you will almost always see is that homes with a lower price and "decent" commission (decent means normal for the market) get sold the fastest. Those with a low commission generally perform worse. Price is the biggest determinator and commission offered does play a sizeable role. Not all agents are created equal. "Just the facts ma'am."

To Sylvia: I bet it is against your local board of Realtor's MLS use policy to have commission written into a purchase contract. Commission is communicated via the MLS or in a Broker to Broker commission agreement only. That was the main original idea behind MLSs--broker to broker cooperation. The agent's are not parties to the purchase agreement so agent's compensation can not be agreed to in the purchase agreement. Report her to the board!

Clearly commission won't have any impact on the buyer's view of the home and what is a value. It must be price right, staged right, etc. But, that being said, if inventory is high and agents are finding so much inventory that looks good and is priced right - then you actually may see agents use commission to help narrow down showing possibilities.

My client requested to see a home that happened to have a 4% commission (which of course he wasn't aware of). They had increased the commission to 4% they weekend I showed it and had a flood of interest. It now has 3 offers on it - including my buyer's. Sometimes it can play a role in showing activity (there is a huge amount of inventory in this area and at this particular price point).

Commission incentives may increase the number of showings (hence increase the possibility of an offer) but an overpriced listing won't sell regardless of the commission offered.

If you are torn between a lower price and a higher commission - opt for the lower price!!

I always say 'NO' to this question because I am like others below that I will show all the houses that meet my client's needs to them. That's what we promised to do when we signed up to be their buyer agent.

However, I recently encountered a Discount Agent who actually wrote in the purchase offer that the commission for her should be raised from 2.5% to 3.0%. I was very surprised to see that and asked to make sure I understood it correctly. She wrote a long email back and told me if my seller was 'smart', she'd accept that counter offer on the commission. I wondered if her buyer knew about this!

I was stunned by that, asked other agents in my office, nobody heard of this kind of behavior, but this is another angle I want to share with you. Amazing, but it happened to me.

Sylvia

I think that when you offer a higher commission it shows that you are motivated. The agents dont usually look at commission when they are sending listings to buyers or when they are showing homes, when times come to negotiating you look at all factors and only very motivated sellers offer generous incentives. It will at the end of the day make a difference.

NO Lower priced homes GET MORE ATTENTION!

Great answer Terrence! I gave you a thumbs up!

Tough call. It isn't "supposed" to matter for someone showing homes to potential buyers. Whether it really affects a real estate agent's decision or not could be argued from now until the end of time.

What DOES sell a home quickly is a variety of items.

1) Curb appeal - It needs to look nice as you are approaching it.
2) Decluttered and staged well - I'm not talking about professional staging. Get rid of the stuff that really doesn't need to be there. Break out a little paint. Get a few things fixed. The last thing most buyers want to do is putting more money and time into a home that they just want to move in and relax to.
3) Priced right - If you were a buyer looking at places, are you going to start looking at the most expensive house on the block? No. So don't price it that way. You may believe that your home is worth a million $, but the market is trying to tell you it's only worth $750K. The better the home is price, the quicker it will sell. Any Realtor can tell you this.
4) Incentives - Buyer's Agent bonus, Seller's Assist, Home Warranty, etc. Dangle those carrots!
5) Commission - I only add commission just to give you a bit of thought. If you were showing someone homes in the area, would you show any homes with 2% commission or the 3% ones? Just think about it. It really does not make too much of a difference for you, but a big difference for the agent.

Even if you left #5 out, as long as the first four are done properly, your home should sell quickly and for closer to (if not more than) the asking price.

Hope that helps.

Terrence Charest

Hi Barbara,
Over a year ago I used to see a lot of agents offering comission bonuses or special incentives. I never understood this practice. Sometimes I see it in todays market and not often at all. It is my personal opinion that any agent that calls themselves a professional should not try to sell a home or urge the buyer towards a greater co-op. Although its always nice to see a 3.5% or even 3% comission now the agent would be looking out for thier best interests and not yours. This goes against everything that agent are taught and im pretty sure its a violation through the code of ethics.
Sorry to ramble Baraba, I just feel very strongly about that issue.

Come on, people! I also will absolutely show the properties that are best for my customers, but if there are lots of listings in a condo or neighborhood that are similar and priced to fit the features, and so forth, I would have to admit that the incentive of higher commission and/or bonus for selling agent are very definitely getting more showings and therefore sell faster. The listings must be of equal value and the bonus commission just an extra perk from a seller to show and possibly sell his or her listing. I am honest with my buyer, and they have always been very happy that I will be able to earn more also when they are not paying any more. Integrity and customer service are the highest priorities, but when I can earn more money also, I do not shun the opportunity. When, in fact, the bonus is really high, say $10,000, I have offered to split that with the buyer. This level of agent incentive has been offered by a big national builder here to help sell off inventory homes. Guess what? It worked. Other builders still have inventory homes, but this builder does not. They figured that selling the homes sooner with a bonus would be less expensive for them than holding and selling later. Who was I to argue?

In my experience I would have to say no! There are a great many agents who rarely look at the commission when look at property. If the property fits their clients needs they are prepared to show them.

I would say no. If you are a Buyer's Agent then the answer should definitely be no.

More attention? Perhaps.

But the real question is "do they sell faster or for more money?"... and while I don't have a study behind me, or any statistics to quote, I'd have to say the answer is "doubtful".