Real Estate Talks

Thanks. Much Appreciated.

Mind sharing how much you ended up paying? Just curious how low Realtors are willing to go these days.

A relative will be selliong their house soon in Surrey for $800,000 to $900,000 and we are thinking of talking to several realtors and offereing a straight 2.5% commission for the selling realtor and buying realtor to split. A similar house one block away sold in one week in March 2016 to multiple offers.

By paying 2.5% on $900,000, you will be paying $22,500 in total - split between the selling and buying Realtors. The 'standard' commissions is 7% on first $100k/3.25% on balance should have costed $33,000 in total split between BOTH agents. So if the $22,500 is split evenly between the 2 agents, then the buying realtor will be out ~$6k. If this was my place, I would get the selling realtor to take less but give the standard commission to the buying realtor. What comes out of your pocket will end up being the same, but just in case buyer agents don't show your place.

Update.

The realtor settled for 7+2.5%. I did offer a bonus for performance. She earned a very nice bonus.

A total of 69 groups visited the Open House. One guy stayed for an entire hour. In the end, there were 5 bids above $1m. After two rounds of elimination, the successful buyer accepted our final offer. It was far above the list price. The assessment value has become irrelevant.

I am satisfied that prime Vancouver condo is now priced comparably to international RE. Woe to the long term bears still renting.

In discussions with my realtor, there is concern that some winning bids have to forfeit because the bank won't lend more. On the other hand, the realtor recounted an anecdote where the bank assessor showed up and rubber stamped the sale price.

Wow so you paid more than $30,000 in commissions, plus she got a nice bonus! That's the price of a decent car. Sounds like you had a good experience though, so it must be worth it to you.

Why give her a bonus though, knowing that you would get multiple offers anyways? I can understand if the bonus was directed to the Buyer's agent...

Congrats again on the sale.

I pay for performance.

I'm a big softie. I wouldn't have squeezed the buyers to the last drop of blood. So, I hired someone who could.

That worked out well. Three realtors made a personal presentation to soften me up. Fortunately, I had a tigress on my side. Now, I feel bad about it.

That's the price of a decent car.

2 points:
Not enough for a typical "nice" Realtor car
Realtor only gets part of the commish because agency takes a cut

What matters is the total that came out of Jim's pockets. Actually, the total that's really being split between Jim and the Buyer.

The Middlemen wins.

hey jimtan, what did you pay for the condo again?

hey jimtan, what did you pay for the condo again?

I paid a fair price in spring of 2009.

What matters is the total that came out of Jim's pockets. Actually, the total that's really being split between Jim and the Buyer.

The Middlemen wins.

To be fair, realtors can add value in a difficult market.

In a weak market, realtors can advise on presentation and upgrades. Makes the property more competitive.

In a seller's market, realtors can squeeze more out of buyers. Their realtors can be sharks trying to fleece the naïve seller. For my case, an Iranian realtor made sure that he made the first presentation. Made a strong offer subject to immediate acceptance. "Forget about the rest", he gestures dismissively.

As it turned out, his was not the highest offer by some margin. And, it turned out that his final offer was considerable higher. So, a naïve seller without a realtor might be tempted by the first offer.

As it happened, my realtor went after the realtors and the higher bids materialized. Pick the right realtor for the situation.

In a seller's market, realtors can squeeze more out of buyers

Realtors represent sellers or buyers. I am assuming here you are referring to selling agents only.

I agree jimtan, realtors bring lots to the table.

the people that whine about OMG 2.5% being too high will be happy today due to the ruling lol

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/this-we ... -1.3559532

yeah baby, only about 20 years late. oh well. this should help open up new tools to be built.

I'll agree that Realtors are paid a lot. However people have been complaining for years about a 2.5% commission here in Vancouver. Seriously? Did you know our Canadian neighbours in Toronto charge on average a 5% commission. Sure Toronto prices aren't as high but they're getting awfully close. Did you know New York commission rates are 6% on average? New York real estate is significantly more expensive than Vancouver. I understand some people don't see the value in a good realtor that's fine everyone is entitled to their opinions. But before you start complaining about a ridiculous 2.5% commission you may want to take a look elsewhere around the world, helps put things back into perspective. We really don't have it that bad here in Vancouver.

I'll agree that Realtors are paid a lot. However people have been complaining for years about a 2.5% commission here in Vancouver. Seriously? Did you know our Canadian neighbours in Toronto charge on average a 5% commission. Sure Toronto prices aren't as high but they're getting awfully close. Did you know New York commission rates are 6% on average? New York real estate is significantly more expensive than Vancouver. I understand some people don't see the value in a good realtor that's fine everyone is entitled to their opinions. But before you start complaining about a ridiculous 2.5% commission you may want to take a look elsewhere around the world, helps put things back into perspective. We really don't have it that bad here in Vancouver.

So you think listing a $1,000,000 house that sells in 1 week after a few private showings and a 2 to 4 hour open house and paying $30.000 in real esate commisssions is good value for your money? How many hours realistically did the realtor work to list the property and complete the sale..........maybe 20 to 40 hours? The hourly rate a realtor charges after a 2 week course is the same as a top level lawyer or accountant after 7 to 8 yearsof education and many years of professional experience. Sure sounds like a good deal to me

I'll agree that Realtors are paid a lot. However people have been complaining for years about a 2.5% commission here in Vancouver. Seriously? Did you know our Canadian neighbours in Toronto charge on average a 5% commission. Sure Toronto prices aren't as high but they're getting awfully close. Did you know New York commission rates are 6% on average? New York real estate is significantly more expensive than Vancouver. I understand some people don't see the value in a good realtor that's fine everyone is entitled to their opinions. But before you start complaining about a ridiculous 2.5% commission you may want to take a look elsewhere around the world, helps put things back into perspective. We really don't have it that bad here in Vancouver.

Many people don't realize that it is payable by a percentage of the sale so if the price is higher they make more, the price is lower, they make less. That's what commissioned sales is. Its very rare people hire a realtor on an hourly wage lol