[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":3,"doc-seo-238356-105":53,"doc-detail-238356-en":126},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,14,19,24,29,34,39,44,49],{"id":8,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":11,"show_sort_weight":12,"slug":13},11,1,"Template","Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":15,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":16,"show_sort_weight":17,"slug":18},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":20,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":21,"show_sort_weight":22,"slug":23},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":25,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":26,"show_sort_weight":27,"slug":28},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":30,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":31,"show_sort_weight":32,"slug":33},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":35,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":36,"show_sort_weight":37,"slug":38},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":40,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":41,"show_sort_weight":42,"slug":43},18,"Letters",30,"letters",{"id":45,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":46,"show_sort_weight":47,"slug":48},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":50,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":51,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":52},158,"General","general-158",{"code":4,"msg":54,"data":55},"ok",{"site_id":56,"language":57,"slug":58,"title":59,"keywords":60,"description":61,"schema_data":62,"social_meta":119,"head_meta":121,"extra_data":123,"updated_unix":125},105,"en","reducing-real-estate-commissions-are-low-fee-brokers-a-viable-alternative-for-home-sellers","Reducing Real Estate Commissions - Are Low-Fee Brokers a Viable Alternative for Home Sellers","","Explores whether low-commission and flat-fee brokers can serve home sellers as a practical alternative to the typical 5–6% commission model. Reviews market barriers created by traditional agents, minimum service rules, and anti-rebate statutes, as well as consumer concerns revealed by a national homeowner survey. Connects the emergence of tech-supported brokerages and later industry changes—such as a 2024 settlement and Zillow listing practices—to renewed opportunities and shifting seller preferences.",{"@graph":63,"@context":118},[64,80,101],{"@type":65,"itemListElement":66},"BreadcrumbList",[67,71,74,77],{"item":68,"name":69,"@type":70,"position":9},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":72,"name":10,"@type":70,"position":73},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/",2,{"item":75,"name":51,"@type":70,"position":76},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/general/",3,{"item":78,"name":59,"@type":70,"position":79},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/reducing-real-estate-commissions-are-low-fee-brokers-a-viable-alternative-for-home-sellers/238356/",4,{"url":78,"name":59,"@type":81,"image":82,"author":87,"headline":59,"publisher":90,"fileFormat":93,"inLanguage":57,"description":61,"dateModified":94,"datePublished":95,"encodingFormat":93,"isAccessibleForFree":96,"interactionStatistic":97},"DigitalDocument",{"url":83,"@type":84,"width":85,"height":86},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/reducing-real-estate-commissions-are-low-fee-brokers-a-viable-alternative-for-home-sellers/238356.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":88,"@type":89},"นรินทร์","Person",{"url":68,"name":91,"@type":92},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-09-27","2026-09-11",true,{"@type":98,"interactionType":99,"userInteractionCount":76},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":100},"ViewAction",{"@type":102,"mainEntity":103},"FAQPage",[104,110,114],{"name":105,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":107},"How much do most home sellers typically pay in commissions, and why does that matter?","Question",{"text":108,"@type":109},"Most sellers pay about 5–6% in commissions, which can total $20,000–$24,000 on a $400,000 home. Because the expense is generally similar across agent experience and effort, some sellers look for lower-cost alternatives.","Answer",{"name":111,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":112},"What barriers have low-fee or flat-fee brokers faced?",{"text":113,"@type":109},"Traditional agents have sometimes been reluctant or refused to work with lower-fee providers. State minimum-service rules and anti-rebate laws, supported by traditional realtors, further restricted opportunities.",{"name":115,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What do survey results indicate about homeowners’ views of low-fee brokers?",{"text":117,"@type":109},"In a national survey, 82% of respondents expressed concern that a discount broker would not provide needed services, including 36% who were extremely or very concerned. The same research also found many homeowners would consider using a low-fee broker if selling conditions were right.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":78,"og:type":120,"og:title":59,"og:site_name":91,"og:description":61},"article",{"robots":122,"canonical":78},"index,follow",{"doc_id":124,"site_id":56},238356,1789134377,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":127},{"doc_id":124,"user_id":128,"nickname":88,"user_avatar":129,"doc_module":9,"category_id":50,"category_name":51,"doc_title":59,"doc_description":61,"doc_content":130,"file_id":131,"file_url":132,"file_type":133,"file_size":134,"view_count":76,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":9,"is_downloadable":9,"audit_status":9,"page_count":135,"language":136,"language_code":57,"site_id":56,"html_lang":57,"table_of_contents":137,"faqs":138,"seo_title":139,"seo_description":61,"update_tm":125,"read_time":140},2336475104957,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/22000c4c6bd8a5076e1?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1787554080175789136","reducing real estate commissions: are low-fee brokers a viable alternative for home sellers?  \nSTEPHEN BROBECK  \nsenior fellow  \nWendy Gilch  \nfellow  \nJUNE  \n2025  \nIntroduction  \nMost sellers pay 5-6 percent commissions to sell their home. On a $400,000 property, that cost is $20,000-$24,000 . Further, this expense is usually the same regardless of the experience, competence, and efforts of the agent. These two factors have persuaded some sellers to consider non-traditional options.1 One such option is low-commission and flat fee brokers that offer their services at a cost lower than a 5-6 percent commission, sometimes much lower.2  \nThese alternative service providers have faced substantial challenges. In the past, traditional agents, in an effort to preserve 5-6 percent commissions, have often been reluctant, or even refused, to work with lower-fee agents.3 State minimum service and antirebate laws, advocated by traditional realtors, further limited opportunities for alternative service providers.4 Perhaps just as important, consumers feared that low-priced brokers would provide inadequate services. A national survey of 588 representative homeowners found that, when asked the question – “How concerned would you be that [a} discount broker would not provide all the services that you need to successfully sell your home?” – 82 percent of respondents expressed concern, with 36 percent indicating they would be“extremely” or “very” concerned.5  \nEarly in this century, tech experts saw opportunities to reduce selling costs and fees through the application of digital technologies. They founded companies supported by investors who envisioned these brokerages as revolutionizing the residential real estate  \n1 There has also been press interest. See: Laurel Wamsley,“Homebuyers and sellers say agents’ cuts are too big. Flat-fee brokers offer an alternative”(NPR, May 21, 2025) . Jordan Pandy,“4 people who bought and sold homes without a traditional real-estate agent break down how and why they did it”([yahoo.com](yahoo.com), December 7, 2024) . Taylor Getler,“What Is a Discount Real Estate Broker?”(nerdwallet, August 16, 2024) . Leah Thomsen,“Should You Use A Flat Fee Real Estate Agent to Sell Your Home?”(House Digest, April 11, 2024) . Erik J. Martin,“Do you need a real estate agent to sell a house?”(Bankrate, February 21, 2024) .  \n2 Low-commission brokers are sometimes also called discount brokers. Many of these brokers object to the term “discount” because they view their fees as fair and reasonable, not as a deduction from the typical cost of broker services.  \n3 For a summary of this issue, see: Lew Sichelman,“Is your Realtor ‘steering’ buyers away from your home? This might be the reason”(Miami Herald, November 24, 2023) . For a more detailed discussion , see: U.S. Department of Justice, Statement of Interest of the United States in the Nosalek v. MLS PIN case submitted on February 15, 2024 to the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.  \n4 Matthew Magura, How Rebate Bans, Discriminatory MLS Listing Policies, And Minimum Service Requirements Can Reduce Price Competition For Real Estate Brokerage Services And Why It Matters ( Economic Analysis Group Discussion Paper, U.S. Department of Justice, May 2007) .  \n5 Big Village Study, Online Caravan commissioned by Consumer Policy Center. Big Village, formerly Opinion Research Corp, surveyed a representative sample of 1,006 adult Americans, 588 of whom were current homeowners, on April 18-20, 2025.  \nmarketplace just as tech entrepreneurs had transformed other consumer marketplaces.6 In 2005, former Microsoft executives created Zillow, which assisted consumers by pricing their homes and making available information about homes for sale. Shortly before that, investors supported the creation of Redfin, which used salaried agents and initially charged total commission rates of about three percent.7 In the next decade, tech-oriented brokerages including Trelora (2011), 1% Li","cbCaihEXPdiYVNpA","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaihEXPdiYVNpA","pdf",1090147,25,"English","# Introduction\n## Traditional commissions and cost structure\n## Challenges for low-fee brokers\n## Consumer concerns and survey findings\n## Tech-driven brokerage innovations\n## Industry changes and implications for non-traditional services","[{\"question\":\"How much do most home sellers typically pay in commissions, and why does that matter?\",\"answer\":\"Most sellers pay about 5–6% in commissions, which can total $20,000–$24,000 on a $400,000 home. Because the expense is generally similar across agent experience and effort, some sellers look for lower-cost alternatives.\"},{\"question\":\"What barriers have low-fee or flat-fee brokers faced?\",\"answer\":\"Traditional agents have sometimes been reluctant or refused to work with lower-fee providers. State minimum-service rules and anti-rebate laws, supported by traditional realtors, further restricted opportunities.\"},{\"question\":\"What do survey results indicate about homeowners’ views of low-fee brokers?\",\"answer\":\"In a national survey, 82% of respondents expressed concern that a discount broker would not provide needed services, including 36% who were extremely or very concerned. The same research also found many homeowners would consider using a low-fee broker if selling conditions were right.\"}]","Reducing Real Estate Commissions - Are Low-Fee Brokers a Viable Alternative for Home Sellers | PDF",9]