What you should know about paying the buyer agent's commission
- Patrick Stuckwish
- Jan 28, 2023
- 1 min read
The buyer's agent commission is paid by the seller, not the buyer.
When you list your home for sale, you will enter into a contract with a real estate agent who will help you market your home and represent you in negotiations with buyers. The real estate agency that employs this agent will be responsible for paying their salary, including their commission.
A commission is an amount of money paid to a person or company based on their work. In real estate, the commission is usually paid by the seller as part of their sales contract with the real estate agency that employs both the seller's and buyer's agents.
The seller pays this fee because it is part of what they have agreed to when listing their property for sale through a real estate agency—it's a part of the service that they are purchasing from the agency. It can be negotiated up front, but typically fees are paid at closing at which point both parties sign off on them before any funds exchange hands.
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