Real estate agents and Realtors®, unlike professionals in different categories who bill by hourly rates or at the end of the project, get paid through a transaction (commission) at the end of each sale. For example, if an agent has worked with a seller or a buyer for months, they don’t get paid for the time spent if there will be no transaction during that period. Agents receive a commission once the transaction goes through to settlement (closes) based on the selling price of the home. At that point, the commission is then earned. The commission itself is negotiated — in most cases, between the client and the agent. Typically, an agent will earn a commission of 6% from the sale price, but some brokerages have commission discounts for the sellers with whom they work. Essentially, the listing agent and the buyer’s agent will split the commission. That can bring forth some issues. For example, sometimes the split might not be negotiated evenly. A seller could have agreed to pay a commission of 5.5% that, if further divided, the buyer’s agent would receive 2.5% while the listing agent receives 3% of the commission. Even though some agents are associate brokers, or brokers in general, from positions requiring licensing and extra training, all commission payments are instructed to go through to the broker who’s managing the brokerage where the agent is working. From there, the commission is then split to the agent and the broker according to the agreement that’s been made. The split will vary; sometimes, newer agents will earn a small portion of the commission compared to the experienced or successful agents who generally sell more expensive properties or homes. PAYING THE COMMISSION ITSELF The overall commission is paid for at the settlement period by the seller. The fee is taken from the proceeds of the sale of the home or the property. However, the buyers pay the commission because they’re literally paying to purchase the house, while the sellers take the commission for the agent into account during the process of determining the price for the listing.
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