I am frequently asked by Flat Fee Sellers "what should I offer as a commission amount to the buyers agent?" or more directly "can I save even more money by offering the buyer agent a lower commission?"
I have a strong opinion on this topic: Pay the most common buyer commission amount for your given area, around half the total commission sellers pay to sell a home the traditional, expensive way with a broker, 2.5% to 3% in most areas. This is not the area to try to save money, it will hurt your market time and possibly the success of selling your home.
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In the past year I have been contacted by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC). It seems they want to make sure that as the Flat Fee MLS Listing evolution of the MLS takes off and becomes popular, that there is no backlash from traditional brokers. I have often worried that as Flat Fee Brokers become more successful that traditional brokers who are losing business may be tempted to compete unfairly.
I am excited to start a log of what is going on in the flat fee MLS industry. I firmly believe that flat fee listings are the future of real estate and look forward to discussing their development here. My goal is that this blog with be a resource for consumers considering a flat fee listing, as well as a way to for sellers to learn how to best sell their home.
This week ABC Television News broadcast a lengthy story on Albert Hepp and the "new" Flat Fee MLS Listing selling option for real estate sellers. The story showed an interview with Albert about how the service works, and how successful sellers have been. BuySelf Realty's yard sign and website were also prominently shown in the video story.
This month's issue of Parents Magazine had the following quotes about FlatFeeMLSListing.com: "Selling your home? You don't have to pay a 6 percent brokers fee…to cut costs, Check out FlatFeeMLSListing.com"
This week the Philadelphia Inquirer did a story with FlatFeeMLSListing.com, here are some of our favorite quotes from the story: "Why pay an agent 5, 6, or 7 percent? …it’s not as difficult as many real estate agents would have you believe…Most buyers work through real estate agents, so…have your property listed on the Multiple Listing Service, the mother lode of homes for sale…FlatFeeMLSListing.com…will put properties on the MLS for a fee…you can save $10,000, $15,000, or $20,000 in Realtor’s commissions…"
Thank you to the new customer who brought this story to our attention.