Commission Page1

How much commission do you want to pay?
This is one of the first decisions you’ll be asked to make when listing your home with a Realtor®. Commission is always negotiable, but the percentage you choose, as well as the percentage your Realtor® offers in MLS, may have an effect, either positive or negative, on how quickly your home may sell.

In our area, the majority of homes for sale are listed in MLS (Multiple Listing Service) which makes them available to be shown and sold by all member companies in Southeastern Wisconsin. When a property is listed by one company and sold by another, it is called a co-operative or co-broke sale. In a co-broke sale, the commission you pay is divided 4 ways:

• The Listing Company receives a portion of the 6%;
        The Listing Agent receives a portion of the Listing Company’s portion
• The Selling Company (co-broke) receives a portion of the 6%;
        The Selling Agent receives a portion of the Selling Company’s portion

Once Upon a Time...

... Mr. and Mrs. Seller are interviewing Realtors® to list their home at 123 Main Street. After the interviews, Mr. and Mrs. Seller choose Mary of Regal Realty. The price for their home will be $100,000. Mary places the home in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and two weeks later an offer is received from Dave of King Realty. The offer of $100,000 is accepted and the Closing date set. At Closing, all the expenses including Commission are itemized for both the Sellers and Buyers on the Closing Statements. Below are 3 examples of commission splits and how each changes the compensation for both the Listing and Selling Companies as well as Mary, the Listing Agent, and Dave, the Selling Agent.

Example #1: Sale Price $100,000 x 6% commission = $6,000.

• Co-Broke Offer of Compensation, 2.4% ($2,400), divided between Selling Company and Selling Agent.
• Remaining 3.6% ($3,600), divided between Listing Company and Listing Agent.

Example #2: Sale Price $100,000 x 5% commission = $5,000.

• Co-Broke Offer of Compensation, 2.4% ($2,400), divided between Selling Company and Selling Agent.
• Remaining 2.6% ($2,600), divided between Listing Company and Listing Agent

Example #3: Sale Price $100,000 x 5% commission = $5,000.

• Co-Broke Offer of Compensation, 2% ($2,000), divided between Selling Company and Selling Agent.
• Remaining 3% ($3,000), divided between Listing Company and Listing Agent.