What’s a Fair Realtor Fee in Florida?

What is a realtor’s commission in Florida?

What percentage do most realtors charge in Florida?

What do the seller’s real estate agent fees cover?

What do the buyer’s real estate agent fees cover?

Are real estate commissions negotiable in Florida?

Who pays the realtor commission in Florida?

How much do real estate agents make in Florida?

What’s a fair commission for a real estate agent in Florida?

What is a Realtor’s Commission in Florida?

In Florida, much like in the rest of the United States, real estate agents are paid a percentage out of the sale of each property, known as a commission. This means that when you agree as a seller to work with an agent to sell your property you are also agreeing that the agent will in turn receive a percentage from the sale as payment. Similarly, the real estate agent who brings in the buyer is also entitled to a percentage of the sale. What realtors’ commissions cover in Florida depends on whether they are the buyers or the seller’s real estate agents.

What Percentage do Most Realtors Charge in Florida?

The average realtors’ commission charged in Florida for both the sellers and the buyers’ real estate agent is around 2.5 to 3% of the total property price for each party in the sale of the property. That means that the total amount that you are expected to see as a realtor’s charge at the end of a property sale ranges from 5 to 6%. This percentage covers all the services that the realtor has been responsible for or has been completing as part of the sale. 

What do the Seller’s Real Estate Agent Fees Cover?

For the seller their real estate agent or realtor will usually take over and handle the following tasks:

1) Arranging for the Creation of the Listing

Depending on your real estate agent, this could include arranging for the photographs for your listing to be taken, staging your home, as well as documenting all the rooms, their sizes, and amenities of your property. Once they have collected all the property details, they would then typically create the listing to be publicly posted for prospective buyers in your area to see.

2) Determining The Asking Price

A crucial component for selling your house is deciding what your asking price will be. Your real estate agent will usually research the market in your area and determine what the best asking price for your home should be.

3) Advertising or Showing the Property

It’s not enough to simply create a listing and post it. A realtor’s help in those aspects can be important and can make a difference to sellers, but where they truly shine is in marketing and showing your property to potential buyers. Normally, this entails your agent taking on marketing actions such as creating posters, holding open house events, and initiating digital marketing campaigns. All of these will help draw more potential buyers to your property and will ultimately help you sell your house faster and at the best possible price.

4) Negotiations

Having a realtor can be an invaluable tool while negotiating the sale of your property. They will be the ones to help you during the back and forth communications and can save you a lot of time as they can assist you with drafting counteroffers, or by immediately rejecting offers that do not meet your standards. 

5) Closing Day Assistance

Finally, real estate agents can play a big part during the closing day. In most cases and in most states, Florida included, to legally complete the sale of a property you will need certified personnel to verify and help you with the completion of the sale. The real estate agent can help arrange all of that for you and help ensure everyone necessary attends the closing for your property. 

What do the Buyers Real Estate Agent Fees Cover?

For the buyer’s real estate agent, the commission fee will usually cover handling of the following tasks: 

1) Finding Properties for Sale

One of the areas where having a real estate agent can save you the most time as a buyer, is the property search. Searching for a property that meets all of your needs can be a difficult and time-consuming task. Because of this, it’s common for prospective buyers to reach out to a real estate agent for help sorting through all of the available listings, and only presenting the ones that meet the buyers wants, needs, and requirements. The buyer’s real estate agent will usually show potential buyers around, and tour them through properties they are interested in. 

2) Assisting With Getting a Mortgage

A service that many people don’t realize a real estate agent can assist with, is finding a mortgage lender. In most cases, your real estate agent should be able to help you navigate potential lenders and choose one that suits your needs.

3) Offer Negotiations

Much like with the seller’s real estate agent, the buyer’s real estate can also help with negotiations by putting in offers on properties you are interested. Your agent will also assist you if you need to make any counter-offers and negotiate the sale price or any property issues you’d like to see fixed prior to purchasing the home.

4) Closing Date Assistance

Similar to the seller’s agent, the buyer’s agent is also there to help on closing day. The buyer’s realtor is not usually responsible for scheduling the closing date, but they are able to assist the buyer with the completion of the final walk-through of the property, was well as with any compensations owed upon closing on the property. Their assistance can be invaluable for the buyers as they can mediate and make certain that everything is completed according to the original agreement. 

Are Real Estate Commissions Negotiable in Florida?

Real estate commissions are normally determined by your realtor and no harm can come from trying to negotiate them. It’s important to be aware that it’s very uncommon for real estate fees to drop below the standard 5 to 6%. In general, if your real estate agent offers to complete the deal for 2.5%, there’s most likely not going to be any wiggle room to reduce the fee even further. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. It simply means that you need to be aware and have realist expectations when it comes to the commission pricing.

• Buyer’s and seller’s realtor’s commission fee is normally 2.5 to 3%
• There are some listing agencies that may offer a 1% commission for listing the property
• 1% listing agencies don’t always offer all the services that real estate agents offer 

Who Pays the Realtor Commission in Florida?

Realtor fees in Florida are generally covered by the seller. In fact, that tends to be the standard across the United States. What that means is that the seller, upon receiving payment for the house will give their real estate agency the 5 or 6% that was previously agreed on. It will then be up to the seller’s real estate agent to share that with the buyer’s realtor. Normally, the split of that amount is equally divided between the two realtors but there are also occasions in which the split is not equal. That depends on the negotiations on the commission fees and rates that were originally made and the decision that was reached. 

How Much do Real Estate Agents Make in Florida?

There normally isn’t set amount real estate agents make. This is because real estate agent income is solely determined by the sales made. Depending on the cost of the home an agent who completes one sale versus an agent who completes ten sales can be making similar or vastly different amounts. 

On average, a real estate agent’s income in Florida was around $61K in 2020. This is according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and it considers all the agents that are present in the market. This includes part-time agents, new agents, and agents in both high and low-value selling markets. This means that depending on the area and your level of experience as a realtor the amount that you are making could vary greatly. 

While the mean wage for real estate agents is $61K in Florida, for those that find their way into the 90th percentile, there is a much larger amount to be made. In this group, the average annual income can reach around $120K. This proves there is potential to become a high earner in Florida if you have the experience. Those who focus on luxury listings also tend to have more lucrative earnings and the property price directly correlates with commission earned.

Factors determining real estate income:

• Property prices
• Types of properties
• Years of experience
• Commission percentage

What’s Fair Commission for a Real Estate Agent in Florida?

With the average realtor commission in Florida being between 5 to 6% it’s fair to say this amount is considered to be a ‘fair commission’ in Florida. The 5 to 6% will normally be split between the buyer’s and the seller’s real estate agent. The usual split is an equal split but there are occasions where that isn’t the case. This is typically negotiated between the agents who handle the split of the amount after the seller pays the full commission to their real estate agent. 

• The seller pays both real estate agents through their payment to their real estate agent
• The seller’s realtor is responsible for splitting the amount with the buyer’s realtor
• The split of the commission fee is usually equal, but there are occasions when it is not
• Both the seller’s and the buyer’s realtors normally get a 2.5 to 3% commission fee each

Summary

Realtor commission fees in Florida work similarly to realtor commission fees throughout the United States. This means that normally, the seller pays the full amount of realtor fees after the sale of their property, and then that amount is divided between the buyer’s and the seller’s realtors. On average the commission fee is between 5-6% of the total sale price, which is then split between the two agents. Real estate agents earn a commission-based income, which can often be very lucrative. In Florida the average realtor income is around $61K.