Released: August 09, 2008

Your first negotiation: The agent’s commission

Source: Elizabeth Razzi, Washington Post (Free Registration)

Home sellers could save money by thinking of real estate commissions as an agent’s asking price. It’s something that’s open to negotiation.

A new survey shows that sellers who were successful in negotiating lower commissions reported being just as satisfied with the service they received as were sellers who paid a commission of 6 percent or more.

Consumer Reports magazine writes in its current issue about a survey of its readers who tried to sell a home from spring 2004 to spring 2007. Forty-six percent tried to negotiate a lower commission, and among that group, 71 percent succeeded. Even when they paid commissions of 3 percent or less, sellers reported being as content with the service they received as those who paid 6 percent or more.

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