You will probably work with a real estate agent if you have been considering investing in real estate, buying your dream house, or renting or buying a location for your business.

Find out how much a commission agent normally earns, what it looks like in practice, and who pays the commission.

As per the new 100% commission real estate model an agent may keep all your commissions. However, let us discuss the present scenario of the traditional model.

How much commission will real estate agents make?

Most real estate brokers are compensated as a percentage commission on the sales price or rent of each piece of real estate that they assist a client in buying, leasing, or selling.

Although there is no official commission rate, individual local markets typically have their own standard fee, which has typically ranged from 5% to 6% of the purchase price of a residential home.

However, percentage commission rates have been falling for years. The average "buy-side" commission rate was 2.63% of the sale price, down from 2.69% in 2020 and 2.75% in 2017, according to recent research.

The overall commission (on both the purchasing and selling sides) is estimated to be at 4.94%, which is a decrease from 5.4% in 2012.

However, these figures do not account for commission splits between agents and their brokerages.

Commission splits in action

To make this concept clear, let us see an example:

  • With a 5% commission in place, a home sells for $300,000 as agreed upon by the seller and listing broker.
  • A 5% commission on $300,000 equates to a total commission of $15,000.
  • The listing broker pays the other broker $7,500 of the commission and keeps $7,500 if the listing and buyer's brokerages share the commission equally, which is typical when both firms operate in the same area.
  • The broker and the agent then split each $7,500. For this example, let us assume a 50% split, which results in each agent receiving $3,750 or half of the commission.

Can a real estate agent give a buyer a commission?

To be eligible to receive a commission on the sale of a property, a person must hold a valid real estate agent license. Real estate brokers can, however, give refunds or commission credits to buyers in all but 10 states.

Some brokerages are experts at enticing buyers to deal with them by offering credits or rebates. In this situation, the brokers and agents give up some of their own profit, but they do so in the hopes of increasing sales volume.

Who pays the actual real estate commission?

When selling real estate, commissions are subtracted from the total cost of the transaction, which essentially means that the seller is paying out of their profit. Typically, the landlord is responsible for paying commissions on leased premises.

However, depending on the area and the state of the rental market, who pays a commission to an agent representing the renter may change. A tenant could be responsible for paying their agent's commission in a city where there are more renters than there are available homes which can be called a "landlord's market".