In Texas, almost all homes are listed with 3% being offered to the buyer’s agents. Even if you use a flat fee service to list your property, the buyer’s agent’s commission is one area where it doesn’t pay to cut back. Usually, sellers list their house for a price that includes 3% room for negotiation anyway, so you can simply apply that to the commission and not negotiate the price when a buyer’s agent is involved. When you offer no commission or less than 3% at least one of the following WILL happen:
Your house will get fewer showings and take longer to sell.
In order to have the most traffic for your property, buyer’s agents need to be compensated, or they will not show your home. When you do offer 3% commission, showings are efficient with CSS. Buyer’s agents are able to easily show clients the property with their supra keys. The more showings you have, the more opportunities there are to have an offer sooner rather than later.
Agents will assume
Some agents assume that their commission is 3%, because they don’t look at the listing carefully. They will then write the offer to include a 3% commission anyway. Then there’s the problem of reconfiguring the offer, which usually ends up frustrating the agent as well as the buyer. This results in you agreeing to pay the 3% anyway to not lose your buyer.
You can make it less desirable for the buyer.
Agents who notice the lower commission offered have a written agreement with their buyers that guarantees the agent a 3% commission. The buyer then has to pay his agent the difference in the commission. The buyer ends up needing to pay more than expected. It’s just more complicated and tends to annoy the buyer and potentially can ruin the deal.
As far as offering MORE than 3%, or offering a bonus to the agents, don’t do it! It’s more effective to lower the price of your home instead. Their agent is expecting 3%, so offering more is not going to change anything. Ultimately, the buyer chooses whether they purchase the home or not. An agent’s bonus will not affect a buyer’s decision but a competitive price will. When selling your home, offering more than what is standard is just a waste of money.
