Definition of "Sales commission"

Gigi Dales real estate agent

Written by

Gigi Daleselite badge icon

Howard Hanna Real Estate Services - Mt Orab

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!

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Real Estate Terms

To upgrade a facility by installing up-to-date technology as well as introducing stylistic changes reflecting current patterns. Modernizing a facility can add substantially to its value and ...

Through the master plan definition, we can understand it’s a plan describing both through narrative and maps the overall land use of a designated urban area. It includes both present ...

Statue designed to protect lenders if a seller secretly sells substantially all of the business property. The objective of the law is to safeguard against defrauding creditors. ...

Distance from the location of natural ground and water to the actual ground level. ...

Individual: Total assets less total liabilities less estimated taxes. It is the individual's personal equity which might be the basis for a bank loan to buy real estate. Corporation: ...

Identifying marker of a company. Attesting to something such as the validity of an instrument used in real estate. ...

Flood insurance is a type of home insurance created to protect a homeowner’s property against damages caused by floods. Flood insurance is typically not included in the regular ...

Wood strip on the top of a baseboard. ...

Board used when connected as a floor. It may also be used as a strip in a wall or door. ...

Popular Real Estate Questions