SpendSaveLive : Dissecting the Cost of Selling Your Home

Dissecting the Cost of Selling Your Home

Posted on June 9th, 2009 by James Lupori |

There has always been a huge discussion about the cost of selling a home. Until recently, it was common for a seller to pay a real estate agent a commission (5%-6% of the sale price was common). The agent would have a seller sign a listing contract with the understanding that he/she would price, market, negotiate and facilitate a “sale” to closing. Several years ago there was a shake-up in the industry when some brokerages started offering more flexible commission rates and a la cart services.

The current economic situation has caused a great deal of analysis and navel gazing by the Real Estate Industry. It’s as if the industry was a huge boulder: solid and impenetrable. Consumers just assumed that the commission they paid was being utilized by the agent to get the house sold. That was before times got tough.

Now, market pressures have brought a new transparency to the business. It’s as if someone took a hammer & chisel to that huge boulder and BANG….the rock has exploded into its component parts. Now consumers and industry insiders are looking over the pieces to see what the whole thing is made of and what sort of costs are involved in the sale of property.

I prefer to portray the costs of selling a home as a jigsaw puzzle, so it isn’t one big chunk. No, There Are Many Pieces:

As you can see from my illustration, there are some big pieces to this puzzle. The cost of selling a home is composed of some complex and expensive parts. In order to help you understand the importance of these elements, I shall be doing a series of articles on each one.

James is a skilled and knowledgeable Associate Broker & Realtor with Keller Williams. Whether he’s selling an existing home or helping clients find their dream home, he provides quality real estate services in residential properties and relocations.

James and his wife Virgina have lived in Seattle since 1986 and bought their first home, a 1940’s project, in 1989. James is passionate about the Pacific Northwest and is dedicated to helping others find their home here.