Sales Commission
Definition of "Sales commission"
Broadly speaking, a commission is a remuneration a person receives after acting on someone else’s behalf.
In the real estate world, you’ll usually hear the term “sales commission”, which is the remuneration a real estate broker and/or agent earns in regards for his/her service representing the home seller (or the home buyer) in a house buying/selling transaction.
Well… most of the times, at least.
Sorry if you’re looking for easy answers; the real estate market is complex - that’s why an agent expertise is something you should not turn your back to.
Sometimes agents do earn money regardless of a house being sold: Buyer’s agents, for instance, might earn a real estate sales commission even if the prospective home buyer doesn’t end up buying a house. Think about it: the buyer’s agent drove the client around showing houses on the weekend, shared his/her educated knowledge regarding the real estate market… that comes at a cost and it wouldn’t be right if the agent gets nothing out of it should the client decide it’s not the right time to buy a house.
And there are some times when the agent gets no real estate commission at all! Yup; even if the house is sold! If an agent entered an Open Listing or an Exclusive Agency Listing but did not manage to bring the final offer to the table, then the real estate commission will go to the agent who brought it or to the homeowner.
The standard real estate sales commission is 5% to 6% of the final sales price and the listing agent splits it evenly with the buyer’s agent.
Real Estate Tips:
Check our Glossary Terms for more real estate lingo!
And find an agent to help you with the complex task of buying or selling a house!
Popular Real Estate Terms
The amount of inherent risk for a mortgage in granting a mortgage. An operating principle in mortgage risk rating is that the mortgage cannot exceed 2.5 times the mortgagor's annual income, ...
Lien on a given property, such as an person's house as a collateral for a loan. ...
Legal status conferred by certain states on a homeowner's principal residence. In certain states, homestead status may provide protection against creditor claims or forced land sales ...
Cost of the standard unit of area that is used to measure a parcel of real estate. Commercial property rentals are generally quoted on the basis of square foot cists. For example, a ...
Same as term higher and best use: Use of a parcel of land that will produce the greatest current value. ...
Land subject to an easement. ...
Commercial building having several different uses blending together. For example, retail shops are on the first floor, professional offices are on floors two through ten, and a restaurant ...
Provision at the end of a document, such as a will, wherein the witnesses sign that the instrument has been executed before them. This may be useful involving transfers of real estate. ...
Out-of-state or out of jurisdiction administrator appointed to probate a decedents property when there is no executer or executrix. ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.