In the past, almost every person who sold a home in Delaware used a real estate agent to do it. Sellers understood why the expertise of a real estate agent was important, and real estate agents could charge a standard commission fee without any haggling. Today, real estate agents must explain why they are needed, and sellers are getting big discounts on commission fees.
Residential real estate brokerage firm Redfin conducted a survey that looked at real estate agent commission fees. The survey found that real estate agent discounts were very common last year, and 60 percent of home sellers did not pay the standard commission. The average commission discount that sellers received from their real estate agent last year was 41 percent off.
Any type of discount off of a real estate agent’s commission can mean big savings when a home is being sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars. For example, a 41 percent discount off of a standard commission for a $400,000 house could mean that the seller saves about $10,000. Some analysts say that real estate agents are offering discounts because they are competing for limited inventory. Other people argue that traditional agents are competing with online real estate companies that help sellers to list their homes by themselves.
A seller’s decision about whether or not to work with a real estate agent may depend on the type of property that is being sold. If a property is located in a highly sought-after market, a seller may be able to find qualified buyers with limited assistance. However, every residential real estate transaction will involve specific legal requirements that the seller may want to have overseen by an attorney.