With the current market situation, as sellers are lowering their expectations of how much $ they can get from a sale, so are the realtors.

A 6% commission once was the norm; however from 1991 to now, the average has fallen from 6.1% to 5.1%, based on studies made by Steve Murray, of Real Trends, which is a real estate consult firm/newsletter operator in CO.

Normally when you work with a realtor to sell your home, he or she receives a portion of the profit. Let’s say that for example a home sells for 150 K, 6.1% of that is $9,150.00, with 5.1% at $7,650.00. Yes, you might think that is a lot of money. It is your house, you paid for it, maybe you fixed it up...but you also have to think about what the realtor handles that you do not and also the expenses they put out before they even get paid.

1. Advertising: They have to put out ads on your house.
2. Travel time: Every time they show it, they have to drive out.
3. Phone calls, meetings, time time time, etc etc etc.

Think about the potential waiting time they have before even seeing profit. Before, homes were selling like hotcakes, but now? Also, the more they lower their commission, the less they make after all the waiting, while continuing to do all the above outgoing expenses.

Those are some of the reasons why you might want to think twice before going with a realtor whose commission rate seems too good to be true. Will realtors really continue to do all of the above, with their potential profit dwindling away? Some are now offering only minimal advertising: a photo and brief description on their website, a little advice on selling, maybe one basic showing with the rest up to you.

Several internet based realty organizations are definitely trying to cut an edge off the competition. One such net organization is ziprealty.com, which goes as low as 25% off commission,  There are also organizations that are trying to pull in a little profit off of the FSBO´s, ForSaleByOwner.com is offering a deal for $699 where they put a listing on the MLS (multiple listing service). This was normally only allowed by those selling with a realtor; times are definitely changing. Then there is helpyourself.com; it has many packages you can choose from, heavy assistance at a higher fee to the bare minimum at a very low cost.

It bears a lot to think about; you could think you are saving the money by forgoing the commission, but what if you have to wait longer to sell, or end up under pricing your home and losing more then if you had used an experienced realtor. If selling was as simple as it seemed, a lot more people would be doing FSBO wouldn’t they?