A listing that just closed escrow had this in the confidential remarks:
Seller will pay 6% commission if property is sold at $735,000 or higher; seller will pay 5% if property is sold for less than $735,000 – commission to be split 50/50 between listing and selling brokers.
In this case, the home sold for $715,000, but the agents can still say they made a decent living – and the seller can say he got a break on the commission for accepting a lower price (the list price was $735,000).
I love the idea of our pay being performance-based.
If listing agents promise to deliver a certain price, and they don’t, then sharing the pain with the seller would be a fair proposition.
Likewise, if a seller wanted to incentivize agents to sell the house for retail (or retail-plus), then the paying of an additional reward, or bounty, could make a difference.
The new purchase contract we were discussing? Yep, the buyer-agent’s commission is still not disclosed anywhere – buyers will never know if their agent got a bonus.
P.S. There is a category on our MLS to specify ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to a variable commission, which serves as an alert to the buyer-agents that the listing agent has an incentive plan, and/or a dual-agency discount.
Love the idea.
I wonder if the listing agent will slow down the process waiting for a better offer?
Hope not – the seller needs to be strong in their resolve to make the right decision, in spite of their realtor’s desires.