An obvious question that I get when I meet with prospective clients is “what commission do you charge?”. It’s a good question and an important one. But before I answer that question let me say one thing. What an Agent charges in commission should be a factor in the decision that you make but it is not the most important factor. Your real estate transaction is an important one and first and foremost you must have confidence in your agent that he or she will do a good job for you.
In regards to commission, I have often heard Sellers say that the “Standard Commission” is 5%. Well, there is no such thing as a “Standard Commission”. The Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) and the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) do not make recommendations on commission and my brokerage puts no pressure on any of its agents to charge a certain percentage or fee. The commission charged is what is decided upon between the two parties, Seller & Agent and agreed to in writing in a Listing Agreement.
I don’t have a fixed rate that I charge but in no instance will I ever charge a client 5%. When I meet with prospective clients, I explain how the commission works and who gets what (the Agent that represents the Seller and the one who represents the Buyer). What I charge depends on a number of factors that I outline to my Sellers while doing a full listing presentation regarding my services and a market analysis of their home compared to ones available and recently sold in their area. Bottom line though is that commission is expensive and I try and save my Sellers as much as possible.
In my Value Add section I speak about 3 ways to add value. #2 is saving my clients money. With the rapid increase in prices in the GTA, I see no reason why I should charge the same percentage that I charged when houses were priced at significantly lower values when I started in this industry in 2007. I know that my clients appreciate that and it’s one of the reasons that I get a significant amount of repeat and referral business.
With all of that said, I encourage people to call me to discuss the many different ways that I add value to my clients. Commission is just one of a number of ways and something I am happy to discuss with people on the phone or better yet in person. I look forward to hearing from you.