4% broker commission? (Redondo Beach: house, buyers, closing)

[RVD90277]

I am getting ready to put my house on the market. I live in Redondo Beach in a pretty desirable area without a lot of inventory (west of PCH, 2 blocks from the beach).

The listing price will likely be just shy of $1m.

I know that traditionally in my area, the commissions are 5% (2.5% to the buyer agent / 2.5% to the seller agent).

A few years ago when the market was strong, I remember some companies like Catalist that were setting commissions at 3% (1.5% each) and that may have been pushing it.

I am wondering if it'd be ok to reduce my commission from 5% to 4% so it would be a 2% / 2% split.

Are there still some people lowering commissions or is this really just something that is not done in today's market? I personally don't feel that the .5% will make a big different to a buyer's agent since there isn't much inventory and the purchase price will be pretty high.

If the buyer and I are at an impasse, I will not expect the agents to step in and pay for the difference out of their commissions.

Any thoughts?

RVD

[jw2]

I do not know the full impact of your strategy but I will say these days, more and more buyers are finding their own properties online and asking their agent to arrange a showing. It seems the days of agents only showing properties with higher commissions, if they ever existed, are numbered.

[RVD90277]

I posed the question to one of my friends who is an agent. I haven't heard back yet but I think he'll give me an honest answer as a friend. But then again, he is an agent so he obviously has an interest in keeping commissions high.

Back when I sold my last house in 2004, I went with 4% but as we all know, it was a different market back then. Work for a selling agent consisted of getting the listing, hosting a broker's open house on thursday, hosting an open house on saturday and sunday, reviewing the multiple offers on monday, asking the top 3 bidders to bid again, and closing the deal by wednesday. 1 week of work was pretty much all it took back then.

It's a little different now...

[RalphWiggum]

In my experience trying it, they'll give you some schpeal about "Do you want me to work 20% less hard to sell your house?" and will guilt you into 5%.

[CA4Now]

Cough up the 5% (and be glad that you weren't selling during the days when it was 7%). It doesn't matter that you live in Redondo Beach; right now it's a buyers market and you want to sell your house. Right?