2 years ago in some of the hot markets across the country, the first step to marketing was putting a sign in front of the home. If that did not work, entry into the local MLS and Realtor.com would typically sell the home.

Consumers are not fools, they knew that real estate agents wanted the listing "no matter what" and would cut a commission to get the deal. If houses were flying off the market in record time, losing a percentage was worth not losing the deal.

Fast forward to the summer of 2007 and the smart agents are demanding XYZ(See Original Article) percent and refusing to list homes (and owners) that were not ready for sale and priced right. The good to great real estate agents can explain that going with a lower commission makes no sense at all. The discount in the commission means that corners may be cut in the marketing and maybe a point shaved off the buyers agent commission which could hurt opportunities for the home to be shown.

To take an idea that Ken Harvey has in his weekly column, the customer should be running to the full service agents in a slow market. Pay the XYZ(See Original Article) percent and get the most effective marketing possible. I know some can market the home for a lesser percentage and do a great job, but when push comes to shove, sellers should be very discriminating on the skill sets of their real estate agents.

And agents should be very discriminating on their sellers.

A couple of years ago when I started blogging I really thought the discounters would win the battle. The commission structure was out of whack in my eyes. But all that happened was that the cycle really did not reward the agents who demanded the full commission. A hot market does not need a big marketing budget.

But in the days of a slow market, asking for the XYZ(See Original Article) percent to get the word out as effectively and powerfully makes a great deal of sense.

During the late '90s and into the housing boom years, average commissions dropped steadily through the XYZ(See Original Article) percent level and stabilized about XYZ(See Original Article) percent.
One key reason for the decline was the relative ease of selling houses at ever-billowing prices. In the hottest markets, buyers lined up and fought bidding wars for houses. Some sellers asked: Why pay XYZ(See Original Article) percent to a realty agent when houses almost sell themselves - often for more than the asking price?
Now the market is starkly different - sales are down, inventories up, prices anemic - and a different approach to commissions may be gaining ground.
More realty agents are refusing listings that don't come with full XYZ(See Original Article) percent commissions. A handful of high-octane agents are even charging XYZ(See Original Article) percent to XYZ(See Original Article) percent as their standard rates - and they are doing well.via  baltimoresun.com

Source: TheRealEstateBloggers