Success will ultimately be defined by the consumer, but as I see it results. How many homes an agent lists over a period against the number sold (success by all definitions). I calculate sold versus canceled, expired and sale fails. Some agents are masters of getting listings, but only so so at getting sales. They make a living out of shear volume and chance. Others work on the premise that they are hired for the result and work to that end. There will always be changes of circumstance for sellers which may still cause some fallout, but I view success as closing the vast majority of listed homes.

Let's add this question to the mix: How do you define an agent's "success?"

Well, Seekingtosell, I am gong to be succinct, and simply answer your question as posed, without any editorializing. I have quickly glanced at the other responses...many are what you would typically expect - several aren't......but here's my advice on how to find an agent who will take a 5% listing:

Make a list of agents in your area....then, get on the phone.......call and ask!
Sit down with, and discuss the marketing plans and qualifications with 3-5 of the agents who said yes................pick the best one.
If you are a curious soul - call on at least one agent who said "no" to the 5%, and see if what he or she offers differs to any great extent from those who said yes.

Good luck...choose who you think will do the best job for you...........
Debbie Rose
Prudential NJ Properties
Debbie

I will put my best effort to sell any home as a listing agent no matter what the pay, it is my duty, and every agent should do the same. What fee a seller and an agent agree to, can be different from agent to seller. All fees are negotiable, if you don't ask you will stay hungry.

Dan

You make some excellent points and I happen to agree that the primary focus of a Buyer or Seller should be to find a True Professional Agent that will assist them in attaining their goals....

A good Professional Agent is worth 6% IMO but I also believe that Commissions are negotiable and that there are Good Agents that will work with 5%

A consumer has options and should decide what their goals are and find the Best Agent for the job then if you can negotiate the Commission to 5%...Congratulations....

If the difference between A Good Agent and a so-so Agent is 1% then pay the 1% because the so-so Agent most likely will cost you far more than that in the long run.....

Thumbs up to you Dan

Dunes

I am probably late here but I'd like to add my 2 cents worth. I think you are asking the wrong question. Agents and sellers who focus on commissions and not results often get neither. Selling real estate is a complicated legal as transaction which if handled poorly can cost you far more than the 1% you hope to save.
My suggestion, if you are not already listed, is to interview several agents who work in your area and seem to get results. Leave the discussion of commission out of the conversation at first. A good agent is worth far more than 6% and they may be one willing to work for less, but a bad agent will cost you way more. Our current market has several examples of mistakes made by homeowners and agents. As values decline, the longer you are on the market the less money you stand to get for your home.
Focus on the best agent, if they will work for less AND do a credible job, good for you. The best ones I know will document their success. Ask to see their recent history of active, pending, expired, canceled and sold listings. See how long their properties are on the market for and what percentage they sell for in relation to the original list price. Compare these numbers to the CMA for your area. Are they better or worse than average. Pick a quality agent and focus on the bottom line, getting results. Call me if you would like a few suggestions. Best of luck.

To add to what Karen said, I would also find out past results. As my link below points out, some firms are not that good at actually selling listings, and as my second post points out, even within firms you get varied results between agents. Whether the listing fee is $500 or 6% is irrelevant if the house doesn't sell (assuming the $500 is contingent on getting a sale, which it probably wouldn't be).

Dear Seeking to Sell,

The rate an agent charges is always negotiable. Agents base their rates on the level of service they provide, so it is important to interview agents and find out their services before focusing on percentage. If price is the only consideration, then value is not option.

I think you would have to interview different agents and negotiate the 5% if you still insist on that fee after the interview, and after you understand all the different parties and services that have created that agent's fees.

Hi Everyone,

Many recent answers to this question were removed because they were not relevant to the question asked. Please be sure to take any off-topic debates offline and that you post only answer that provide the question author with the information he or she is seeking.

Thank you,

Emily Gibson
Community Moderator

Jeff, few agents maintain time records. In Washington it would mainly be because the broker is trying to keep track of hours for Labor and Industries (workers comp).

That said, some agents will work on an hourly basis. I do work for $150 an hour, but that's mainly for non-consumer type situations. Consumers generally don't want to pay out of pocket if there is no result, and if the result is contingent on success, the hourly rate is going to be higher.

I did not mean to imply that your website was deceptive. I reread my post and can see how that might be inferenced, I apologize.

I assume you initial post was removed because it violated community guidelines as an advertisement.

Every agent will take some at 5% and others not, depending on the price range and terms of listing.

More important for you to ask is will they keep the whole 5% if the buyer does not have an agent. Many homebuyers in Bellevue hope to find a house on their own, and keep that 3% buyer agent fee. So make sure your agent will not be turning those buyers away because they want the whole 5%, whether the buyer has an agent or not.

Don't look at the total as one fee. If you do, then your agent will be entitled to the whole 5% if the buyer comes without an agent. Many sales are lost due to that factor, especially within a close proximity to Microsoft.

Do any brokers provide timesheets to document the amount of time spent on a sell?

All Realtors are independent work under guidelines of their broker. Best contact interview agents compare "apples to apples" what exactly is offered when you list your home.

Although you are not in Dallas Texas we offer not only MLS posting:
a) Website
b) Syndication over 30 websites
c) YouTube video
d) Blogs
e) Weekly advertising via web
f) Yard sign has my direct line than broker office therefore I speak direct to anyone interested in home than a person just answering broker phone has no idea quality of home , features, and etc.

Some agents place a sign in front yard that is it.

Good luck on sale of your home

National Featured Realtor and Consultant, Texas Mortgage Loan Officer, Credit Repair Lecturer
Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Lynn911
Lynn911

http://www.lynn911.com

From the Consumer Reports link below: " For example, 85 percent of Keller Williams Realty agents advertised homes on the Web, compared with 75 percent of Century 21 and 76 percent of RE/MAX reps. Seventy-five percent of Keller Williams and Prudential agents helped negotiate the terms of the sale (such as repairs to be done); only 67 percent of RE/MAX brokers did so."

Okay, this favors the company I'm associated with (Keller Williams), but I call BS on those claims, and I think the fact that they claim their survey indicated such calls their entire survey into question.

Locally, just about every listing will be on the "Internet" somewhere. The question is where. Not all firms link to Realtor.com, which is by far and away the most frequented site. Not all agents feed to sites like Trulia and Zillow. That's typically up to the individual agent (although not always).

As to negotiating the terms, only the most basic limited service firms would be in that category, and locally they are not doing anywhere near the even the low percentage of sales s that would make those answers make sense.

Finally, I'd note that there's a lot of variation between agents within a firm, which makes such surveys rather pointless.

This is a must read consumer reports article:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/money/real-estate/real-es…

Make 2 or 3 calls to local agents and ask them up front if they will work for 5% and what they will do for that commission. I can promise you that you won't have a problem locating someone in a matter of minutes.

First, let's assume for purposes of this answer that the 6% is a 3/3 split between listing and selling (buyer's) agent. Not all agents list at 6%, but there are some reason why an agent wouldn't take a listing below 6%.

On the listing side, if your listing requires a lot of work, for example, why should an agent do that for less than 3%? Conversely though, if your property is already to go, and a relatively simple listing, why should they require 3%? But in any case, the results the discount brokers get don't seem to be as good, presumably because sellers need more services than what they realize. Perhaps it's preparing the house, perhaps it's price, perhaps it's marketing, but full service (not necessarily full fee) agents tend to get significantly better results.

http://blog.seattlepi.com/realestate/archives/181080.asp

On the buyer's agent side, that is one situation where as listing agent we strongly recommend that the seller offer a full 3%. You don't want to be at a disadvantage to other listings.

http://blog.seattlepi.com/realestate/archives/135895.asp

Keep in mind that selling a home is not a fun experience by any means, and that the goal is to sell as quickly as possible for the best price. Assuming your house is an easy listing, I'd recommend finding an agent willing to list for 5.5%, with the buyer's agent getting the full three. With taxes, interest and annoyance, anything you save going beyond that is likely to be quickly lost.

Seekingtosell

Just shop around, interview different Agents and Agencies and you'll learn more more about what's available in your market area as far as options and Commissions.

Most of what you'll get here is lectures on Those who will take a Commission less than are inferior/bad/will do less/not pros/bad bad people so you should pay more...(we have expenses, you'll get that tossed in also)

Become informed, shop around and good luck, Dunes